Happy Hustle High!, Vol. 1

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By Rie Takada. Released in Japan as “H³ School!” by Shogakukan, serialized in the magazine Shoujo Comic. Released in North America by Viz Media.

As many of you know, Viz has been releasing many of its titles digitally. And, while it’s great to have the latest Naruto or One Piece on your tablet, the main reason this is an amazing boon for consumers is seeing some of the older, out of print titles of yesteryear return. Let’s face it, I have enough trouble keeping up with the current titles I read, much less trying to go back and grab that series I missed 8 years ago. And this one intrigued me in particular, because I had vague memories of people really enjoying it. My other two experiences with the author – Punch! and Gaba Kawa – were more mediocre, so I wanted to give this a try to see if it was the exception. Sure enough, this is so far an excellent shoujo series with a great, spunky heroine.

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Hanabi Ozora is typical of the shoujo heroines I like – takes no shit from anyone, generally beloved by her female classmates, can be dense as lead when it comes to the opposite sex, etc. These qualities are put to the test for her when her school is folded into a boys’ school as it wasn’t doing all that well. Now she and her classmates have to deal with boys – boys who seem, at times, arrogant, haughty, and cold. But also, y’know, really amazingly handsome. In fact, the girls’ school council can’t deal with the devastatingly attractive Yoshitomo, who is making rules against classmates dating. That can’t stand! Enter Hanabi, who has no issues whatsoever dealing with handsome guys – hell, her biggest issue is her frizzy hair.

The romantic male lead, by the way, is not the aforementioned Yoshitomo, who so far tends to be the ‘arrogant with a nice streak underneath’ sort, but the school vice-president, Yasuaki. Yasuaki has trouble dealing with girls in general, so getting Hanabi in his face every day is almost too much for him. His cold aloofness, naturally, turns out to be shyness. Oh, and did I mention he’s a surfer? Hanabi has to get his signature in order to ditch the anti-fraternization rule, and he gradually comes to appreciate her never-quit attitude, which seems to apply to her entire life as well as her petitions.

The complications start when the other school council member, Tokihisa, starts to fall for Hanabi, who’s never dealt with romance, so has no idea why being friendly with another guy would make the first guy jealous. This must be resolved by a tennis match… between men! (With added Hanabi.) It doesn’t help that Yasuaki is effortlessly good at everything he does, leading to Tokihisa having a serious inferiority complex. And if you guessed we’d be dealing with a forceful kiss by the end of this, you’re right… in fact, as a bonus, we also get mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after a surfing accident too!

Absolutely nothing about this is original, but as I’ve noted before, if you want originality, why are you reading shoujo manga? This manga gave me what I wanted: a strong, amusing heroine, a variety of hot guys she could potential end up with, the one cool, brooding guy she obviously will end up with, and some nice surfing shots. (The author, by the way, has moved on to josei, writing for Hakusensha’s Silky and Shogakukan’s Judy. Since those two magazines combined have inspired zero North American licenses, we may not get much more of her over here.) I’ll definitely be checking out further volumes of this series.

K-On! College

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By Kakifly. Released in Japan by Houbunsha, serialized in the magazine Manga Time Kirara. Released in North America by Yen Press.

It’s hard to be drawn in sometimes when a series is just so corporately driven. There was nothing wrong with the ending of the original K-On! It ended quite well, with the girls graduating and moving on to college. And yet suddenly, a few months later, we return with not one but TWO new series, each running in a separate magazine. It’s hard not to look at this and think that the publisher asked the writer to drag things on a little bit longer. What’s more, it is only a little bit – each sequel only lasted one volume, and the ending for this college volume just isn’t as satisfying as the original ending. Not to mention that many of the new characters fill similar functions to the old group. So, why read this cash-in?

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Well, because the author still knows how to write cute girls doing cute things and having cute situations. I mentioned in a comment on a previous review that I use ‘moe’ in two distinct and separate ways, and this is the first one. Everything about this is designed to make the reader happy to read about girls doing everyday things and trying to keep their high school rock band going. There is zero romance, and next to zero fanservice (there’s a suggestive color page of Mugi at one point). And there are absolutely no little sisters being this cute. Well, there’s Ui, but she acts the part of the responsible oneesama in any case. In any case, what we have here is more of the same, but at college. But if you enjoyed the first four volumes, there’s a high percentage you’ll enjoy this.

There is even, dare I say it, a bit of character development, showing that the girls might be growing up. Yui is trying to think about why she wants to keep playing music, even if she tends to think so hard it gives her a fever. Ritsu is the same, only she’s not a prodigy like Yui or a hard-worker like Mio and Mugi, so her fears tend to come to the fore. Mio still has her little foibles, but is cringing and freaking out a lot less, and is able to give just as good as she gets (her friendship with Ritsu remains a highlight). As for Mugi, she’s on her own for the first time in her life, so has her own insecurities that the others have never worried about. Seeing her joy in the little things we take for granted is really sweet.

As for the new girls, they get fleshed out more than I expected. Akira in particular I wasn’t fond of when we first met her, as it was fairly clear that the author needed someone for Yui to glomp and Azusa wasn’t around anymore, so here was a nearby replacement. Gradually, as the manga wears on, though, we see that she’s isn’t just another tsundere. She’s also allowed to have an old male crush, since she’s not one of the original cast and fanboys won’t burn merchandise in protest. But fear not, it doesn’t go anywhere. Sachi and Ayame round out the rest of that trio, and each have their own little quirks (particularly Sachi), but sadly don’t get as much time as Akira to develop in the minimal pages we see here.

Again, there’s nothing here that doesn’t support the idea that the author was asked to draw a little bit more to make some more money. But the core of what made K-On! enjoyable is also still here, and there’s nothing actively wrong with this. If you enjoyed reading about the four girls before, you’ll enjoy it here. If not, well, get it so that you can watch Ritsu’s hair evolve over the course of the volume.

License Request Day – Another Look At Bestsellers

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I was reminded after Kodansha’s recent licenses at San Diego Comic Con (I’ll have a post on them later) that they had both been on my last major License Request pile. So, since I’ve used those requests up for the most part, let’s take a look back at the bestseller charts. June 2013, to be precise.

I’m looking at the Top 50, which has 32 distinct titles on it (some titles have multiple volumes). 20 of these 32 are licensed, which shows you how “Company X never licenses the really popular stuff!” isn’t true. So, already off the list are: One Piece, Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, Kimi ni Todoke, Attack on Titan, Blue Exorcist, Yotsuba&!, Bleach, Detective Conan, Black Butler, Real, Magi, Natsume’s Book of Friends, Fairy Tail, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Toriko, Vagabond. Inu x Boku SS, Say “I Love You”, and Drifters. Even if one of those is only as of yesterday. :)

That leaves 12 titles. Let’s look at them, and find good reasons they should be licensed, and good reasons they may never be licensed.

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1) Saint Young Men, Kodansha.
— Why? It’s a smart, witty, funny and heartwarming story about Jesus and Buddha in modern-day Japan, dealing with subways, hot springs, and spending far too much money. It’s a cult favorite on the internet.
— Why not? This is the only title I can think of – EVER – where the Japanese company has taken it upon themselves to say they’re not licensing it to North America. They believe the market isn’t ready for it. I’m inclined to agree with them. All it takes is one angry parent going onto the 700 Club… Also, it’s filled with obscure references and would need a Zetsubou-sensei amount of notes at the end. Kodansha are trying to cut back on endnotes, and Vertical avoids them when possible.

2) Silver Spoon, Shogakukan.
— Why? It’s the latest manga by the author of Fullmetal Alchemist, which was a huge seller over here. It’s filled with humor and heart, and lots of likeable characters. It’s a bestselling Shonen Sunday title, and we need more of those. There’s an anime currently running.
— Why not? It’s a farming manga. And I mean that most sincerely – this isn’t a romance manga or action manga that takes place on a farm, it is a manga about farming that takes place at an agricultural college. You know the last Ag College manga that they tried over here? Remember Moyashimon’s fate? Yeah.

3) Kuroko’s Basketball, Shueisha.
— Why? It’s the biggest sports title Weekly Shonen Jump currently has. It also has a HUGE fandom, admittedly heavily female and “BL” oriented. It’s a lot of fun.
— Why not? It’s over 20 volumes and showing no signs of ending soon. Viz is still trying to finish Slam Dunk, also a Jump manga about basketball with a large female fandom. Its fandom is controversial in Japan due to psychos who threaten to bomb every single doujinshi event featuring it.

4) Assassination Classroom, Shueisha.
— Why? It’s the latest big breakout hit from Weekly Shonen Jump. It has all the things you want from a Jump comic – comedy, action, and lots of heartwarming, as the students of the “failure” classroom all learn valuable lessons thanks to their so-called “evil” teacher. The teacher is a smiley face on legs, which sells itself.
— Why not? Did you look at the title? Stories about a teacher whose students try to kill him in various ways, and with various weaponry, are a bit of a tough sell here.

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5) Sakamoto Desu Ga?, Enterbrain.
— Why? This is, no doubt about it, the funniest title on this list. It’s brand new, so there’s no issue with it having tons of volumes risk-wise. Did I mention how funny it is?
— Why not? It’s also really incredibly weird. In fact, it may remind people of Cromartie High School, which did not sell well here if you recall. There’s only one volume out in Japan, so people may want to wait a bit to see if it can keep up its one joke. It is a very funny joke – Sakamoto does everything awesomely – but still one joke.

6) Ao Haru Ride, Shueisha.
— Why? It’s the latest from the author of Strobe Edge, and is basically a fantastic Shojo Beat candidate. High school romance, people trying to learn from past mistakes, heartwarming, tearjerking, etc.
— Why not? Strobe Edge is still running, and I imagine its success or failure will give a hint as to whether this title will do well. That’s really about it.

7) March Comes In Like A Lion, Hakusensha.
— Why? From the author of Honey & Clover. It’s charming and well-written.
— Why not? Many reasons. Shogi features heavily in the plot. Honey & Clover didn’t sell all that great here. Hakusensha really only has one market left – Viz – and they tend to focus on their shoujo titles there. This seinen title isn’t quite the same.

8) Terra Formars, Shueisha.
— Why? That’s not a misspelling – this is a manga about taking back Mars, which due to a terraforming project gone wrong is now inhabited by humanoid cockroaches. It sounds a bit like Starship Troopers, to be honest. It’s won awards, and is only 5 volumes long so far.
— Why not? It’d have to be a Signature title, and those are always hit-or-miss sales-wise. Viz also tends to avoid Young Jump series.

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9) Uchuu Kyoudai, Kodansha.
— Why? It’s an epic space story with an anime that has won many awards.
— Why not? It’s far too long for a seinen title (20+ volumes), and its fanbase, while vocal, is pretty damn small. It runs in Weekly Morning, which generally doesn’t have much of a license presence here.

10) Chihayafura, Kodansha.
— Why? It’s incredibly well-written and heartwarming, has an anime adaptation, and its fanbase is VERY vocal.
— Why not? It’s about that Japanese poetry game where you pick out the right card. It’s josei, running in the magazine Be-Love. It’s over 20 volumes and still going.

11) Gintama, Shueisha.
— Why? A digital-only release could be a great way to revive this title, which combines humor and serious business like no other Jump title out there – even One Piece isn’t quite as mood whiplashey as Gintama can get. Some of its best stuff hasn’t come out over here yet.
— Why not? Contrary to popular belief, Viz almost never drops series unfinished. They did so with this one. That implies bad sales. It’s also got a huge volume count, and shows no signs of ending. There really are an awful lot of poop jokes.

12) Mix, Shogakukan.
— Why? It’s a Mitsuru Adachi baseball manga, taking place in the same universe as his acclaimed Touch. Nuff said.
— Why not? Cross Game didn’t sell that great. There are other Adachi titles I’d want to see before this.

And there you have it. Some of these are quite likely to get looked at in future (Ao Haru Ride, Terra Formars), while some are pipe dreams. Which of these bestsellers do you most want to see over here?