Manga the week of 11/10

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At last, it’s the relatively quiet week we’ve all been dreaming of!

Vertical has the fourth volume of Twin Spica. At MangaNext, Ed Chavez noted the series was merely doing “okay” sales-wise. We need to pump that up, this is a great manga!

Meanwhile, Viz has its non-Jump or Beat stuff. Some Shonen Sunday, with new Inu Yasha (along with its omnibus), and Maoh: Juvenile Remix. Some more violent stuff in Shonen Sunday’s seinen spinoff Gene-X, with Jormungand. Seinen of both the gritty sci-fi (Biomega) and dog-loving fanservice-loving (Inubaka). And the last of the DBZ omnibuses. I never really cared for DBZ, preferring its younger and goofier Dragon Ball self, but hey, the kids seem to like it. And there’s no denying its influence.

The Wallflower Volumes 22, 23, & 24

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By Tomoko Hayakawa. Released in Japan in 3 separate volumes as “Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge” by Kodansha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Bessatsu Friend (“Betsufure”). Released in North America by Del Rey.

If you go to the popular wiki site TV Tropes, and look up the entry for The Wallflower, you’ll note a common theme from the editors of the page. All of them are frustrated with the manga’s lack of romantic progress, and regard it as a deep, crippling flaw. The entries for ‘Oblivious to Love’ and ‘Everyone Can See It’ burn with a radiant fury at the author of this manga for continuing to toddle along with her goofy comedy without letting Sunako and Kyohei grow to be the perfect couple they’re meant to be. In the previous volume, the author admitted in the endnotes that her editor was also annoyed with her for dragging things on, and confesses that she can’t actually write romance.

Now, to be fair, this is not entirely unwarranted. At 24 volumes in North America, and still running in Japan, this is one of the longest shoujo series still being published. That’s a big investment for something with little to no romantic payoff. And yes, if you read this manga waiting for Sunako and Kyohei to get together, you should really give up and stop; that or move on to Kimi ni Todoke, which explores many of the same themes, albeit with less bishie guys.

But if, like me, you love the sheer goofy comedy of The Wallflower, seeing the main characters overreact to the slightest provocation, seeing Sunako vary wildly between her superdeformed normal self and the pretty girl she clearly is when inspired to be, and above all watching the rest of the cast also get intensely angry at Kyohei and Sunako for JUST NOT GETTING IT, then this is three almost perfect volumes in one big omnibus. All of what makes this title fun is here.

In non-Sunako and Kyohei news, the beta couples basically each get one chapter, which isn’t much for a three-volume series but then they aren’t the stars. Noi once again desires to be closer to Takenaga-kun, even if it kills her, and almost manages to ruin things simply by trying too hard. Meanwhile, in one of the funniest (and raciest) chapters, Ranmaru’s father, sick of his womanizing, decides to sexually exhaust him so that he’ll grow sick of it. He does this by throwing piles of females at him, to the point where he has to sexually satisfy AN ENTIRE HAREM. Naturally, his fiancee Tamao shows up right when he’s ready to collapse in her arms, which is good, as this is clearly the one girl Ranmaru DOESN’T want to just sleep with and not care about.

Heck, we even get a glimpse of Yuki’s much mentioned but rarely seen girlfriend, who wants to spend Christmas with him in a hotel but is despairing of her ‘chubby belly’. Yuki, who despite being the youngest and most childlike of the four male leads can bishie it up just as well as any of them, is quick to reassure her that it doesn’t matter to him at all. They then, it is implied, actually spend the night together at the hotel. Go Yuki!

Sunako and Kyohei, meanwhile, are themselves. They’re exactly what you expect by now: Kyohei is grumbly and moody, only caring about Sunako when he sees her under attack or in distress. Of course, this being a shoujo manga, that happens a lot. Meanwhile, Sunako is getting more and more shots of her looking ‘normal’ as the series goes on, though she still defaults to the SD-mode. She’s even getting slightly better when Kyohei kisses her (as he’s forced to do at a party to show that she’s better than the snobby girls mocking her), still gushing blood from the nose but recovering far more quickly.

The sexiest chapter is probably the one titled ‘Merry Fuckin’ Xmas Night’ (and big kudos to Del Rey for keeping the original Japanese title). This one has the aforementioned Yuki love hotel plot, and also gives brief shots of Takenagi/Noi and Ranmaru/Tamao. Left to their own devices, Sunako and Kyohei thus proceed to get drunk on champagne. There is a brief moment where Sunako decides she’s going to seduce Kyohei, producing some incredibly hot art. Then, of course, they slip into goofy drunk mode, and karaoke instead. No resolution for you!

The advent of Kimi ni Todoke, which has all the romance that The Wallflower lacks, as well as a similar premise of a ‘scary’ girl coming out of her shell, makes me worry that the fandom for this manga will simply shift over to its more popular Shueisha cousin. And to be honest, Kimi ni Todoke *is* a better manga. If you read The Wallflower waiting for the point when Kyohei and Sunako finally get together… drop it, seriously. If, on the other hand, you read it for the humor and sexy art, this omnibus gives you more of what you love. I’m uncertain if Kodansha USA will pick this up – an omnibus release hints at sliding sales – but 25 only came out in Japan a few months ago anyway, so it has mostly ‘caught up’. Recommended for people with a high tolerance for frustration.

License Request Day: Another look at the Japanese charts

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Back in June I went over the Japanese manga charts, noting the bestsellers and whether the unknown titles could be licensed over here or not. It’s five months later, so let’s do it again.

This is an excellent week to look at Taiyosha’s list, as I believe the entire top 10 is not out over here. To break it down:

1) Volume 11 of Arakawa Under the Bridge. This is a Square Enix title that runs in the seinen magazine Young Gangan, home of Bamboo Blade. It also has an anime in Japan (also unlicensed), with a second season coming soon. Sounds like a perfect pickup for Yen, except: it’s over 10 volumes, and it’s a bizarre comedy about weirdos. Which only sells if they fight each other in shonen comics. :)

2) Volume 46 of Glass Mask. This runs in Hakusensha’s Bessatsu Hana to Yume, and I’ve talked before about its unlicensability, which is mainly due to its length and old-fashioned art style. This does not mean I would not LOVE IT here. It’s one of the few series which if Viz licensed it online might tempt me into an iPad.

3) Volume 2 of Amagami – Precious Diary. Okay, if this *were* licensed, it’d have to be Tokyopop. It’s a Hakusensha title, but this one from Young Animal, their seinen magazine for young horny guys. It’s based on a datesim. And it’s from the authoir of the Kimikiss manga, which TP has also licensed. It would do very well with the Kimikiss/Samurai Harem/”Look, boobs!” crowd.

4) Volume 10 of Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu. This is a Shogakukan title, and runs in the Shoujo Comic magazine. As with most titles in that magazine, it amps up the sex appeal. It’s about a girl who’s good at cutting hair, but otherwise is about as far from Beauty Pop as you can get. If Butterflies, Flowers does well for Viz, this may be a title they could pick up.

5) Volume 10 of Sora no Otoshimono. See my entry for Amagami, only it’s 5 times as long and runs in Kadokawa’s Shonen Ace. Again, if Tokyopop wants boobs manga, this could work for them.

6) Volume 4 of Kinou Nani Tabeta? Other bloggers have begged for this already, so I’ll just note it runs in Kodansha’s Weekly Morning magazine, and therefore Kodansha USA or Vertical seem the most likely. As for sellability, it’s a Yoshinaga title starring gay men and food. It sells itself.

7) Volume 17 of Giant Killing. Speaking of Kodansha, this also runs in Weekly Morning. It also has an anime. However, it’s over 10 volumes, and is a sports manga. Kodansha USA seems the only likely place for it.

8) Volume 24 of Iryuu – Team Medical Dragon. If I was a millionaire, and could toss money at Viz and tell them to license one lost cause, this might be it. It runs in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Superior, which I believe is one of the few major manga magazines to have no North American licenses at all. (Spirits, Original, and BC itself all have something.) It’s about ferreting out the corruption of the medical profession, and is pure awesome. It’s also over 20 volumes of gripping seinen medical drama. Unless Viz gets a good offer, don’t expect it soon.

9) The first volume of Kanpachi. This runs in Ichijinsha’s Comic REX, a boy’s magazine that also hosts its predecessor, Kannagi. The Kannagi author is on hiatus, so this is a superdeformed version to tide us over. Kannagi’s been licensed by Bandai, and if it does well, I can’t see why this wouldn’t come over here as well.

10) Volume 9 of Suki desu Suzuki-kun!!. Another Shoujo Comic series from Shogakukan, this one seems a bit less titillating than Kyou, Koi wo Hajimemasu, and might do well for Viz along the lines of their Sand Chronicles and We Were There licenses.

So what do people think? Any other thoughts on these manga? (No posting links to scan sites, I want them licensed, not scanlated.)