Midtown’s new list for next week, as ever bearing little relation to Diamond’s, is now out. Apologies to anyone who expected K-On! this week from my post last week. This is the danger of using a store that buys from multiple distributors. :)
Dark Horse is releasing another volume of Gantz, which judging by the fast release schedule may be their sole remaining hit (well, not counting Berserk, which has caught up with Japan). It’s really coming out fast, and no doubt will feature plenty of blood and boobs. I’d hope that if it does well some company might take a chance on either Hen or HEN – two different but interconnected series with gay and lesbian relationships – but doubt it, as neither have sadistic gore.
Del Rey has the 4th (and presumably final for some time) volume of Ninja Girls, the ecchi harem series about… well, an ecchi ninja harem. Never let it be said some titles don’t tell you the plot… all it lacks is cover copy saying “Look! Tits!’, and really that’s what the cover art is for.
Tokyopo has the 8th and final volume of Gatcha Gacha. I realize this is not on Midtown’s list, but for all I know they simply decided not to carry it. Heck, it’s only a few days ago that Amazon deigned to make it available to pre-order. I don’t care, it’s one of the bestest shoujo manga ever. I’ve waited almost 3 years for this volume and YOU WILL ALL BUY IT OR I AM TURNING THIS CAR RIGHT AROUND. Speaking of series that have long seemed to be abandoned, we also have the final volume of Bt’X, a series from the creator of Knights of the Zodiac/Saint Seiya, which may have rivaled Saint Seiya for lowest sales in North America when it came out in the mid-00s.
We also get a couple of shoujo debuts. I’ve heard many people ask about the long-running late 90s manga Tea Prince. Well, it’s still not licensed. However, you may enjoy Sky-Blue Shore, a 6-volume series by the same artist that ran in BetsuHana in 2007. And there’s also a short (2 volume) series by the author of Kare Kano, Eensy Weensy Monster (don’t get mad at TP, that is the Japanese title as well), the first of which is out next week.
In non-debuts or ending volumes, we see more of the fast-track scheduled Gakuen Alice (I still need to read 13 – I suck), the we’re-not-sure-if-this-is-bad-or-just-insane Demon Sacred, The best-selling tsundere hit Maid-sama!, the possibly worn-out-its-welcome but still cute Sgt. Frog, the vaguely gay but not enough to call it yaoi Togainu no Chi, and the gender bender comedy antics of Your & My Secret.
Viz has the 9th volume of its VIZBIG Collection of Vagabond, and must be nearly caught up by now.
And Yen has the debut of a soccer manga with overtones of melancholy, Sasameke, which ran in Kadokawa’s Shonen Ace back around 2001. Don’t expect it to be much like Ace’s current crop, though. Like Dragon Girl, this 5-volume series will come out in 2 massive omnibuses. In Japan, it was followed by a 1-volume spinoff, Sasameki, also from Shonen Ace. We also see the 2nd volume of My Girlfriend’s a Geek, which I liked far more than was possibly justified, and the 5th volume of Nabari no Ou, which I had actually forgotten was still coming out, and which has ninjas. RELUCTANT ninjas.
What appeals to you this week?
Tokyopop week! I am most happy to see Skyblue Shore, which, after all, will probably be the closest we get to Tea Prince in English (siiiigh). As a long-time fan of Kare Kano, I'm also excited to read more of Masami Tsuda's work in English.And I did my part, I have Gatcha Gacha 8 preordered! I like to think I'm not the only new fan the series has acquired since v7 was first released :D Thank you for all the posts proclaiming the series' greatness that convinced me to pick it up when it was still on hiatus! I'm so glad Tokyopop was finally able to finish it.
…I have just now realized that I have always read "Gatcha Gacha" as "Gacha Gacha", and thus dismissed it out of hand. I had no idea they were two different series. This actually seems pretty interesting. I'll check it out. ^_^