And it looks like a completely different animal. o3o)
I’m quite sure a lot of fellow fujoshi started getting into BL with Yami no Matsuei either as their gateway shoujo to BL manga or as a complimentary shoujo almost BL manga to their already growing collection of BL in the early 2000s. All of us were shocked by the sudden inclusion of tentacle rape by volume 11 and I’m quite sure all of us were shocked when author, Matsushita Youko took a major holiday (rumors are she was completely obsessed with Final Fantasy 11) right smack when she had already got a good portion of her main story line going. A lot of us almost gave up on her after not hearing a word about her in year.
While she published volume 12 last year, Matsushita finally returns to the pages of The Hana to Yume , a complimentary special magazine to Hana to Yume. She even drew the cover and yeah… it’s a whole lot different to what we saw 5 years ago.
She might have changed in terms of style but here’s me hoping that she doesn’t give us another five years of waiting to see what happens next to those memorable shinigamis of Yami no Matsuei.
Thanks to Fuuko of Hazukashii kedo for the tip. The edited image above was from a fan twitpic.
The winners of the Osamu Tezuka Cultural awards are out and the winners will definitely take us a trip back in time.
The Grand Prize was shared by two titles. First one (and the only one I’ve seen… at least in drama) is Jin by Murakami Motoka, a story of a surgeon who falls into a time slip and changes history by introducing his knowledge of medicine during the Bakumatsu period. I was only introduced to the drama a few weeks back but I’m happy to hear that this series has a strong manga enough to win the prize.
The other title is Takemitsu Samurai, drawn by Matsumoto Taiyou and written by Eifuku Issei. It’s a historical manga who has a mysterious ronin for a protagonist. Unfortunately, I can’t say much about it beyond it being printed in Big Comic Spirits. I’m only assuming that it’s one of those critically acclaimed yet unpopular titles (doesn’t even have a wiki page. :<)
The New Artist award was won by Full Metal Alchemist. And the Short Story award was won by Yamashina Keisuke.
I think this year’s award winners are quite a lovely set and I think their stories are definitely worth a read. I find it amazing though that Jin won this year. It’s like a nice homage to Osamu Tezuka. In a way, Jin is like the Black Jack of Edo. Sort of…
An awarding ceremony will be held on May 27 and the winners will be awarded 1 million yen and a bronze statue of Atom. Congratulations to all of the winners and hopefully we’ll have another lovely set of manga to read by next year!
The spirit of giving hasn’t disappeared in Japan and now Nakamura Hikaru’s is putting up five St. Oniisan (Saint Young Men) postcards for auction.
She’s giving away postcards of Buddha, Jesus, Brahma, Lucifer, the Archangels, and the first disciples. I find this offer rather nice and the artwork are quite encouraging. I do wonder if Nakamura Hikaru will be placing the earthquake in her manga although I’m not exactly sure if it’s appropriate to mention it in manga.
What I do know is that her Buddha, Jesus, and the rest of the crew mean well. I wish I can purchase these auctions and help more but unfortunately I’m strapped for cash and I can only imagine how expensive these postcards can get. If you are interested in buying the postcards, head towards the auction page at 18:00 p.m., Japan time.
Edit: I just checked the auctions again and now the Buddha and Jesus postcards you see illustrated below has been raised to 93,000 yen individually(around $930)! The Lucifer and Archangel illustrations are now up to 81,000 yen! One wouldn’t think miracles could happen, but I suppose if it means helping those who were brought down by the quake, these postcards are worth every yen.
Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy! \o/
I did mention in my spotlight that Nakamura Asumiko has taken a break to recover her health after her hectic work duties. But it seems that she’s back on track and returning to Opera to continue her current work “Sora to Hara.” They’re giving a colored cover for her return as well as a surprise front page feature for her series Sotsugyousei and Doukyuusei. It seems that the girls in Opera are planning something and Fuuko of Hazukashiikedo thinks it’s an illustration album for her Doukyuusei series! (The Opera article doesn’t say much beyond saying that there’s a surprise feature!! Mou! >3<)
I’m quite excited to see that she’s slowly returning to drawing again and I look forward to seeing her continue her other projects.
Happier news still, her series Anata no Tame Nara Doko Made Mo’s drama CD will be on sale on April 28. The detective, Takachiho, will be played by Toriumi Kousuke and the hot swindler, Nanami, will be played by Miki Shinichiro. I am quite amused that MikiShin is still acting in dorama CDs, BL ones at that.
I’m so happy that Asumiko-sensei is back on track and I look forward to see more of her works up soon.
It breaks my heart to share this news but as with everything, all good things come to an end. One of my favorite shoujo mangas, Ouran High School Host club, is coming to an end this coming September 24, on the 11th issue of Lala Magazine. The 10th issue this month also comes with a climax drama CD.
Well, compared to other shoujo mangas, I honestly like the direction of the last few volumes. It has been amazing so far and a wonderful happy wrap-up, fitting to such lovely lovely characters.
I suppose I’ll try to get a copy of this issue. Or maybe I can just try to buy the last volume as well. Either way, I’m excited. I have so much love for Tono and the rest of the host club!
kirsten on 
Anastasia on 
Guest on 
d4rkn on 
