There's an announcement on Biblos's page expressing concern about point-of-purchase merchandise appearing for sale in online auctions. If I'm reading this correctly, part of the concern is for the artists being deprived of income, since the POP items are designed to lure people into buying more books to get the freebies, and the auctions are a way of circumventing the royalty-bearing purchases.
posted at 8:50 PM

 
2003.7.19 Dance Again
The offical Odoru Daisousasen page has a link to information on the new movie in ENGLISH. And Chinese. But I don't read Chinese, so we're going to pause and celebrate the English, however broken it may be. I'm taking it as a sign that when the DVD is released, it will be subbed in English. (The first movie was, but I'm a nervous nelly and need all the evidence I can get.) According to the synopsis, they're really sticking to the classic Odoru formula, which makes me very happy. The shooting schedule for the film is March to May of this year, with a July release. Nothing like the shooting and post-production schedule for a Hollywood blockbuster, and Odoru is big in Asia. Really, they'll tell you so on the site. I'm impressed. I'm less impressed that they've replaced the site mascot. It used to be Pipo-kun, the real Tokyo Metro Police mascot; now it's this Wangan-kun cartoon.

I want all of these posters:

But I'll settle for Muroi. Somebody go to Japan and steal one for me. Thank you.

posted at 6:00 PM

 

Rakuen no Izumi (Fountain of Paradise)

The art style reminds me of Modoru Motoni (the sharp contrast in tones) crossed with Simone Yotsuya (the distorted angles that form the older man's face). I love it, but -- comparing it to the volume's cover -- I don't trust it. The summary promises three stories, and I wonder if the three figures in the image represent players in three separate tales. From the synopsis of the first story, I'm pretty sure the unappealing but dramatic figure on the cover image would be the soldier named Ryuuji. Maybe the pretty priest and damaged middle-aged man are together? I could enjoy that. Unfortunately, this is a Zero Comics publication, so I'm not going to enjoy it as a picture-read and my reading skills aren't even up to the challenge of the synopsis.

posted at 9:32 AM

 
misreading shounen
This is why I don't read shounen manga.

There's an arc in the DragonBall Z anime where Vegeta decides to participate in some global martial arts tournament because Goku suggests that there's going to be some amazingly strong new talent there. Vegeta enters, looks around at the competition, and can't see anyone particularly remarkable. He's constantly asking Goku who it is, while Goku waves his curiosity aside. Then Goku asks Buu to work his magic to guarantee that he gets paired with this amazing new talent. Spotting an empty bracket, he tells Buu to change his draw to 3. Again, Vegeta asks who the contender will be. *eureka* goes my internal light bulb. It's Vegeta himself, and this has been some clever ruse to get him to participate. Goku has Buu wave the next contender to 2 (against adorable Pan), and then the next person comes to draw. It's Uub...and he's the one Goku wants the match against. *dimbulb*

If I had been paying attention to the name, I would have noticed that it was "Buu" backwards, but I'm all primed for slash and oblivious to the conventions of fighting anime. Would Goku and Vegeta spar any time they wanted to? Is it inappropriate for old enemies, new allies to compete?

posted at 11:13 AM

 
So my punishment for not celebrating the appearance of Saitoh on Rurouni Kenshin is a return to the first episode? Nooooo! More Saitoh. Less "that it is."
posted at 7:18 PM

 
Saitoh's voice in the dubbed Kenshin...my ears are bleeding, my heart's breaking. I waited weeks and weeks through this pitiful dub and didn't assume that Saitoh would be handled as badly as the rest?

The little girls are growing on me, though. Must be the limited exposure.

posted at 7:21 PM

 
My April 3rd order is here! If only SAL were always this fast. Boku wa ne looks too difficult for me, but I'm looking forward to what A described as "the Touched by an Angel of slashiness. All goodness, light, and family values."
posted at 12:52 AM

 
When was the "warring states" era?
posted at 12:32 AM

 
Hey! Vash has translucent bishounen hair (when wet). And Lupinesque features when laughing.
posted at 12:31 AM

 
Picked up Bronze 12 at Kino today, along with the latest HanaDan and Mayu Shinjo (talk about rape fantasies!). The "brand new" Tomu Ohmi I picked up last week (see below) turns out to be a January release. What else have I missed in my carless state?

No sign of Kanata Kara 14 or Hikaru no Go 21. After what A has promised about Touya-Papa's yearning for Sai in this volume, I'm panting to see for myself.
posted at 12:30 AM

 
tag, you're it.
posted at 7:56 PM

 

I picked up Shin Mizukami's Sennen ni hitotsu no koi ("Only lover for thousand years") at the new and improved Kinokuniya in San Jose on Monday. The tankoubon is a collection of 5 short stories and one "bangaihen" set in a highly fictionalized version of ancient China. The first story -- about a tiger who can transform into a man and the young lord he is destined to love -- was an immediate winner. Its side story describes what happens when the man-tiger goes back to the village with his uke. Neat tidbits: he can transform his hair from fair to dark, but can't get rid of the tail, which the uke ("Hakua") ties around his waist like a belt for his robe. The side story ends with Hakua bopping Youko on the head for using a pillar in their home as a scratching post.

Great stuff, not to be judged by the cover. Except, well, okay...if you hate the character designs on the cover and think your eyes would bleed if you had to look at them for longer than two minutes, then maybe it would be a good thing to skip this artist. She has only one seme design, slightly modifiable from scruffy to smooth, but shows more variety is the appearance of the uke. All very much the tall & brawny x small & lithe contrast. Here are a couple of uke samples from different books:

contemporary:

historical:

A recent flood of Mizukami titles makes me wonder why it is that some artists break out into superstardom (Naduki Koujima) and some seem just to reach the brink. Does Koujima have a long series? That usually seems to propel one to fame and fortune faster in BL manga publishing.

posted at 7:17 PM

 
More bk1:

1. Cross Light by Fuuri Misasagi
2. S** Friend by Piyoko Chitose
3. Ichigo mashumaro by Touko Mizuno
4. Ikoku irokoi romantan by Ayano Yamane
5. Oasis Keikaku! by Kazumi Ooya
6. Namonaki tori no tobu yoake by Hirotaka Kisaragi

50/50 smut and sweet
posted at 7:01 PM

 
"bishies" on AMLA? may be time to unsubscribe and head for the yaoista hermitage.
posted at 12:52 AM

 
The Speed Racer parody episode of Dexter's Laboratory cracks me up. Slash value? Zilch.
posted at 7:58 PM

 
Yesterday, I placed my latest bk1 order:

1. Gush Mania vol. 1 (an anthology)
2. Kimi ni CHU oshi 8 (a Hikaru no Go doujinshi anthology)
3. Trouble Maker 2 by Kouko Agawa
4. Love Rush by Chi-Ran
5. Kimi shiruya by Satoru Ishihara
6. Konna otoko ni dare ga shita by Shiuko Kano
7. Breath by Chifumi Ochi
8. Yoru o hashiruemono by Maia Tori
9. Dear Gentle Papa 2 by Nase Yamato
10. Boku wa ne 1-3 by Kiyo Fujiwara

I'm a little concerned about placing such a large order right now: yesterday, I also received a book1 order that had shipped on 3/17, but the order previous to that (shipped 3/03) hasn't arrived yet! Fortunately, the missing order only contained six books. With SAL shipping (not traceable), it looks like I'm going to have to reorder.
posted at 1:18 AM