Crimson Flower is Moving to WordPress!

New URL:  http://thecrimson-flower.com/

Crimson Flower is moving to WordPress. This move was planned when we were still called Omari's Sister, but the task was so daunting that I kept putting it off. But now that we have so much content, finding series and oneshots using the Blogger platform is nearly impossible. Hopefully the new menu structure and tag cloud will facilitate search and discovery. It turns out that we have done a CRAP TON of oneshots. So if you've only read a few of our oneshot, now's the time to binge for days.

Please leave some feedback on the new blog. Let me know what you like and don't like.

As for this blog, it will be kept open, but there will be no new posts. All new posts will be made to the blog on WordPress.

"Kanojo ni Naru Hi Another" Chapter 11

It feels like it's been forever to get to this chapter! Ugh! But I think this chapter is worth the wait. As usual, I will write my thoughts about the chapter on the Lovely Manga Blog. I hope to get it done this weekend. The next chapter will arrive here in early October. We'll try to release it soon after.

On to the release!

New Series "Seiten Kickoff" ("Sunny Day Kickoff") by Kota

It's been a long time since we debuted a new series. The second chapter of this series caught my attention with its bold color pages. I went back to find the first chapter and was delighted even more. This is a sports shoujo where the female protagonist actually does the sport, which is unusual to find these days. Most of the shoujos involving sports now are about girls having relationships with sporty boys.

Kota is newish to me. I've read a couple of Kota's oneshots (not scanlated yet, but we will), and they deal with challenging gender stereotypes and roles. This series is no different. The sport in this series is soccer. American are gonna think it's weird that soccer is characterized as manly, since in the US soccer is okay for boys until a certain age, but ultimately soccer ends up being dominated by females after elementary school. If I'm not mistaken, the US is unique in this view of soccer. Just as an aside, sporty boys in the US usually go on to play American Football, Basketball, or Baseball in Junior High rather than continuing in soccer. I imagine girls continue on in soccer because it's one of the few team sports they can be in.

As usual, I posted my thoughts on this chapter on Lovely Manga Blog (LINK). However, as long as you don't spoil, please leave some feedback on the series in the comments here.

"Seiten Kickoff" runs in The Hana to Yume which is quarterly publication, in other words new chapters come out every three months. I have the second chapter, which we are currently working on. After that, the next chapter won't come out in Japan until the end of October.

And now, onto the release!

Thinking about this Year's Halloween Oneshot Party

I'm not gonna lie; last year's Halloween oneshot party was a complete flop. Either the stories were too lame or too scary and gorey.  The "Friend Doll" anthology from Betsufure and "Urban Legends" anthology from Mystery Bonita stories were too lame and the zombie oneshots from the Lala family of magazines fell under too gory.  I promise not to do anymore stories from shoujo "horror" anthologies. I thought the campiness would be fun, but the rest of the group didn't agree and neither did the readers. However, I cannot resist zombie shoujo, so if some pop up again, I will translate them unless the story is horrible. However I will post them to Bakeneko's Lair so as not to offend sensitive readers. Regardless, 2014 was a great learning experience. I now know the readers of this blog don't like camp and at that scary and gory oneshots are very polarizing.

2015 hasn't supplied me with any Halloween worthy oneshots yet. Fortunately I have a huge stock pile of various oneshots and short series that I've been saving future Halloweens. This year I will focus on story rather than just throwing random stuff at the wall to see what sticks. What I have in mind will be a combination of warmhearted ghost tales, stories involving suspense, and some messed up stuff for Bakeneko's Lair.

I'm going to start finalizing the list of oneshots this weekend so we can get started. If there are any artists you would like to see oneshots from, please leave suggestions in the comments. Also if there are suggestions about what kind of things you want to see in the stories, let me know. Yes, I can dredge up something about horrifying mermaids if you really want to read a story about such creatures.

"Ojousama no Untenshu" has been Licensed by Viz/Shoujo Beat

Hooray!!! "Ojousama no Untenshu" has been licensed! It will be available from Viz/ Shoujo Beat as "The Heiress and the Chauffeur". The first volume will be released in May 2016. Please support the mangaka and Shoujo Beat licensing by purchasing the book when it goes on sale. As usual, the series have been removed from the Crimson Flower server (Haha -- I changed the group name to Crimson Flower because of this series. Hee!) and I deactivated the dead links.

Recruitment: Translators Needed

The team needs a couple translators for harder series like Petite Peche and to check translations (we currently have a backlog of scripts that need QCing). I'm looking for people with advanced Japanese language skills who can handle material without furigana. There is no translation commitment. Volunteers can translate as much as they want or nothing at all. However, there is a one chapter or oneshot per week commitment for translation QC.

If you are interested, please contact me, Kuroneko003 using the contact link at the top right corner of this blog.

"Sabaku no Harem" Chapter 7

First of all, a bit of business.

Crimson Flowers is recruiting. We need help in all positions (Cleaners, Redraws Artists, Letterers, Translators, and Proofreaders/QCers).  Please see our recruitment page for descriptions of these functions. We have a lot of oneshots planned this summer, so the more help we get, the more we can release!
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And now onto this chapter of "Sabaku no Harem". This chapter is a fun filler chapter. Even if you hate filler chapters, I recommend reading this one because it's "wacky harem races" and we begin to learn the personalities of three of the other women in the harem. I love this kind of physical humor and playful banter. Although it was exhausting (too much text!!!), I did enjoy translating this chapter.

And finally the release!

Oneshot: "Saite no Kimi wo Wasurenai" (You're the Worst, but I won't Forget you) by Yuu Mitsuha

As one of the proofreaders pointed out, it's been a long time since we've released a oneshot. Yep! It's been since February. We've been pushing really hard to catch up on our top priority monthly series, and now that we've pretty much caught up, we can start releasing oneshots again.

This oneshot has been translated and sitting on the back burner for about a year. I think this may be our first oneshot from Betsucomi magazine. Anyhow, this is pretty straight forward girl friendship shoujo, so I don't feel the need to write my thoughts about this oneshot. For me it's nostalgic because I've been on both ends of the ignore-a-former-friend situation. Although, it's a bittersweet, I think this oneshot is very calming and pleasant read.

Thanks to Peonine for a lovely translation and to our new letterer, Cortz, for completing the lettering very quickly.

And now onto the release!

Recruitment -- Letterers

Summertime is coming and we're planning a one-shot and short series filled summer. We are recruiting for a couple of experienced letterers who are capable of recreating lettering effects that match the Japanese lettering. So if you want to volunteer, know clever Photoshop tricks, have some free time from the end of May until September, please send me an e-mail via link at the top right hand side of this blog.

"Kanojo ni Naru Hi" Chapter 10

With this chapter, we are all caught up on "Kanojo ni Naru Hi". The Next chapter won't release in Japanese until the first week of July. We'll aim to get it out within a week of receiving the raw.

There are a lot of thoughts running through my head after reading chapters 9 and 10. I posted my thoughts on both chapters on the Lovely Manga Blog (LINK).

And now onto the release!

Recruitment -- Translator Needed for "Bread & Butter"

Translator found! Our very own Jade will be taking over the translation of "Bread & Butter".

I'm looking for an advanced level Japanese-to-English translator to take over translating "Bread & Butter" so we can quicken the pace of releases. The series does not have any furigana, so the interested person would have to be comfortable with that. Also, it would be helpful to be a native English speaker who's a good writer to minimize the time needed to edit scripts.  If you are interested, please contact me, Kuroneko003, via the contact link at the top right hand side of the blog. Either provide me with a translation sample or be prepared to take a test. The work load for this voluntary position is one 40 - 60-page chapter per every 2 months, though once a month is preferred.

"Nemurenu Ou ni Sasagu Yogatari" Chapter 4

Chapter 4 is the last chapter of the "Nemurenu Ou ni Sasagu Yogatari" main story. There's actually one more story left, which we will release within a week. The discussion for the chapter is on the Lovely Manga Blog (LINK)

And now onto the release.

"Nemurenu Ou ni Sasagu Yogatari" Chapter 3

Get out a couple of tissues, because you're going to need them for this is chapter, unless you're Evilnemesis, who I guarantee will be laughing hysterically at the shoujo treacle. I also expect an extremely different reaction from Silverlunar. I'm feeling very:

Even though I've read this many times during the translation and editing process, something about this story punches me in the gut and chokes me up every time. The discussion for this chapter is at the  Lovely Manga Blog (LINK)

And now onto the release!

We will not be Translating Kaoru Ichinose's Ohzora Works

After evaluating what's in my stash, I've decided that we will not be working on any of Kaoru Ichinose's untranslated works that are out there at present. This has been at the back of my mind for a long time, which is why I have been dragging my feet on these projects. If there are works in the future that interest us, we will take them on, however Ichinose's current Ohzora works are not a good fit for our group.

Yukarism is Licensed in the US!!!! W00t!!!!

Since I get this question at least twice a week and I'm tired of answering at least twice a week.
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(March 14, 2014)
Great news from Shojo Beat this morning! "Yukarism" has been licensed! This means that we will remove the files from our server and retire the series. The volume 1 will be available in December.  Everyone please support Chika Shiomi by purchasing the series!

Link to my "Sabaku no Harem" Chapter 6 Commentary

I finally did my "Sabaku no Harem" commentary on Lovely Manga. (LINK) It's a safe place to spoil all you want, so head on over to give your own commentary and share your favorite scenes. You can also leave comments on the individual images in the post.

http://lovelymangas.com/2015/04/16/my-thoughts-on-sabaku-no-harem-chapter-6/

"Sabaku no Harem" Chapter 6

First of all, I'd like to thank Ichigo Stars and Silverlunar for doing some crazy Photoshop gymnastics to get the redraws done for this chapter.

Ugh... as soon as we catch up, a new chapter comes out with another special chapter coming out in Lala 9 days from now. And with that, we're two chapters in the hole again. This series is going to be the death of me and the redraw artists! I hope it's printed in the good section of Lala and it's less than 50 pages. Please, please, let it be a short with a nice raw. But before we get back to this series, I would like to release "Bread & Butter" chapter 5 and catch up on the "Kanojo ni Naru Hi's".

This is pretty heavy chapter. I'll write my thoughts about it on the Lovely Manga blog sometime tomorrow. Chapter 7 is a fun filler chapter. I assume the second Lala Special chapter will also be filler.

And now onto the release!

Any Thoughts on Mangalator?

I just had a look at a website called Mangalator and found out that "Sabaku no Harem", "Bread & Butter", and both "Kanojo ni Naru Hi" series are being translated there. I don't like duplicating efforts, so I'm considering dropping these series. Do any of you read manga on Mangalator? If so, what do you think about it? Please give me some feedback.

We Need Immediate Help with Redraws

We need immediate help with redraws so we can release chapters of "Sabaku no Harem" and Sleepless King. If you can help this week, even it's only a few pages, that would help us tremendously.

I'm Back! (and Recruitment)

I'm back from the sticks! My grandmother's spirits were greatly lifted by our visit, so I'm glad I went. I read a few first volume of some shoujo manga series, so look out for some reviews on the Lovely Manga Blog.  I talked with key Crimson Flower members about picking up some new series. And it looks like from the survey, readers want us to continue "Sabaku no Harem", so we will as long as it stays a Lala DX series (there will be another special chapter in Lala next month.) Needless to say, I missed blogging, I missed translating, and I missed Photoshopping. I'm pumped! And I am ready to hobby my ass off!

We need help at Crimson Flower to finish off some series and start new ones.  Our greatest areas of need are typesetting and redrawing. If you have experience doing either of these and can spare some time, even on a temporary basis, please contact me, Kuroneko003 via the link in the upper right hand corner of this blog. Also, please see our recruitment page for description of all positions.

We will announce new series as we become able to work on them.

Manga Review: "Hatsu * Haru" by Shizuki Fujisawa on Lovely Manga Blog

This series is well-written typical shoujo. It would make a great starter shoujo and at the same time satisfy veteran shoujo readers who love to see their favorite troupes played with nice writing and super cute characters. This is a series that I would like to see licensed with tween and teen readers in mind.

To read the full review, go to the Lovely Manga Blog:
http://lovelymangas.com/2015/03/16/manga-review-hatsu-haru-by-shizuki-fujisawa/

Another Family Health Emergency -- breaking until April 1st

There's another health emergency in my family. I will be out of town and in a rural area that most likely will not have cellular data for me to access, so I couldn't upload CF projects if I wanted to. I will, however, use the two weeks to read as much unlicensed manga as I can and write up some reviews when I get back. Barring another of the issues, we'll start releasing soon after I get back in April.

I will make an effort to get the "Sabaku no Harem" Lala Special oneshot out this week before I leave. Thank you all in advanced for understanding. I am hoping for the best... but... well. Everyone, cherish you families and remember to call and visit your grandparents.

If there are any specific short series (under 5 volumes) or oneshots that you want me to read, please leave your suggestions in the comments.

Review of "Zetsubou Baby" on Lovely Manga Blog

 

First Impressions:

The first I saw of this series was the last chapter in an Issue of Cheese! magazine. I thought the chapter was hilarious and I wanted to know how this odd couple came to be. Without reading the words, the illustrations in this series are misleading. Reading the story, I keenly felt Kasumi’s social awkwardness and I understood her desire to flee the aggressively aggressive rich boy who insists upon chasing her and dragging her kicking and screaming out of her shell. On top of all of this, the series is hilarious!

Read the entire review on Lovely Manga Blog.

Link: http://lovelymangas.com/2015/03/14/manga-review-zetsubou-baby-by-hina-sakurada/

My Updated thoughts on Scanlation

I wrote a new blog power on Lovely Manga in response to a question about whether "Kanojo ni Naru Hi" and the spinoff are popular enough in scanlation to get licensed. The short answer is scanlation and manga licensing are unrelated. To read more of my perspective on the matter, here's a link to the blog post on Lovely Manga.

I do have an account on Ask.fm now, so if you wish to ask me a question, you can go here: http://ask.fm/KuronekoOO3 or use the Ask.fm widget on the right hand side of this blog.

2014 Series and Oneshot Stats Summary

I'll keep this simple by displaying two charts. I don't want to give exact numbers, so I normalized the data.

There are no surprises about the top series. "Risou no Kareshitachi" was surprisingly the hit oneshot of last year. While being the most popular, this is also the oneshot that I received the most email expressing displeasure about. The least read oneshots were all of the ones released for Halloween, with "The Doll Friend" stories filling the bottom.  I'm not sure what to make of this given the popularity of "Risou Kareshitachi".

I think the only influence that this data will have on me will be our Halloween selections. With the exception of "Drive" and "Mimi no Kieta Hi", the group was "meh" on the oneshots I selected. It was slim pickings last year, but I think if I can't find stuff at least the group is enthusiastic about, then we won't do it. Unless there are some focused horror efforts from the Japanese shoujo and josei publishers in 2015, we'll definitely have a scaled down Halloween oneshot party.

Valentine's Day Oneshot #2: "Joifo" ("Joyful") by Haru Kudo

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone on this side of the world! This is our first project from The Margaret. For years I avoided Shueisha and Shogokugan manga and josei, but last year I gave the publishers' magazines a chance and fell in love with The Margaret. I highly recommend this magazine if you love high school romance shoujo oneshots that have a more depth and maturity than the usual stuff from Margaret/Betsuma.

"Joifo" is one of the oneshots I live Tweeted months ago. The response on Twitter was quite favorable, so I decided to translate it for Valentine's Day. Folks with strict parents and folks who know what it's like to restrain your true self should resonate with this oneshot. And for everyone else, it's about cosplay! I hope you like this oneshot!

And now on to the release!

Crimson Flower is Recruiting

Seems that we lost some members after our long break. Boo... Therefore we need new blood. Crimson Flower is recruiting! We are in immediate need of experienced typesetters and redraws artists. All other position are open too. Please read our recruitment page before e-mailing me (Kuroneko003).  The link is here: http://crimson-flower.blogspot.com/p/recruitment.html

"Sabaku no Harem" Chapter 4

First of all, I'd like to thank Ichigo Stars for jamming through a TON of redraws in a short time. This chapter was STOOPID.
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Next! If you enjoy this series, consider buying the book. The cover is lovely and it includes a loose leaf drawing. The ISBN is 978-4592195917

Here are some purchase links: Amazon JP / Kinokuniya / Yes Asia
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This chapter is super cute! It was just the thing I needed while translating it. I shared my thoughts on the chapter on the Lovely Manga Blog. Here's a link!

And now onto the release!

Re-translation Policy Update

We no longer give permission for re-translation of our projects. We believe that it is best to translate from the original Japanese into your own language.

Check out my Lovely Manga Blog

As some of you know, I transformed one of my old blogs into a new shoujo and josei manga focused (non-scanlation) blog. It's called "Lovely Manga". The URL is http://lovelymangas.com/ So far I've been posting reviews for both licensed and unlicensed manga, writing my perspective on Crimson Flower releases, posting manga related news and commentary, and posting highlights from the magazines I get. Within the magazine highlight postings, sometimes I post PDFs of the summary Tweets of the oneshots and series I read in the magazines, but do not scanlate.  I'm thinking about writing separate formal summaries for the series that I think are really good, but I won't scanlate because another group is already scanlating it, or it's too difficult to scanlate, or it's licensed, or I'm afraid it's gonna be endless shoujo. I'm also considering writing first chapter reviews for the new series that come out in the magazines I get.

Please head on over to the blog and let me know what you think. If you have content ideas, please let me know. I want to put out the information you want about the latest shoujo and josei series and oneshots. I also would like it to be a place for discussions about manga news and series.

Here are some posts that may interest you.

• My Favorite Unlicensed Manga of 2014 and My License Wish List
• 2014 Shoujo and Josei Round-up — Revisiting my 2014 Predictions!
• Highlights from Lala Issue 2/2015
• Hana to Yume Issue 2/2015 Highlights
• Highlights from Betsuma January 2015 Issue