#Inouesatoh

[10dance]

New 10 Dance Illustration!

Inoue's teacher posted a thread yesterday celebrating 10 Dance being on MAL's Read This Manga list under the Unique Stort/Art category. Under the first quote tweet, she added a colored sketch of the Shinyas dancing Latin to thank MAL and the readers.

This could possibly be in the next chapter, but we don't have a date confirmed as of right now. Hopefully it's soon!

[jessenigma]

My Favorite Continuing Manga Reads of 2023

For the past few years on twitter, I've made threads of some of my favorite manga and light novel reads from the past year. This year, I decided I would move it over to two tumblr posts.

After the cut are some of my favorite titles that I started before 2023 and kept reading this year.

Basara, Yumi Tamura

The best thing Viz did for me this year was create a whole new cheap subscription service full of Shogakukan titles, which meant that I could plow through the last several volumes of Basara all at once. This series thrilled me, broke my heart, and made me so happy. Sarasa is such a good lead, finding the courage to fight for her people while still being a teenage girl who just wants to be happy and loved, and I would love to read more series with leads just like her.

Run Away with Me, Girl, Battan

When the first volume of this came out and Kodansha's marketing compared it to Princess Jellyfish, I thought it was going to be something at least a bit lighthearted - woman reunites with her high school girlfriend, they end up running away to live happily ever after, the end, right? - but as it turns out, it was more like the very good but very depressing series about domestic abuse, Sensei's Pious Lie. While it wasn't as heavy as all that in the end, I was fascinated by the relationship between the two leads and the struggle to deal with baggage left from their teenage years. (And Battan's art is awfully sexy, much appreciated.)

Tales of the Kingdom, Asumiko Nakamura

I am so sad that the English release of Tales of the Kingdom is nearly caught up with Japan, because that means that I have to wait a small eternity for more stories about this fantasy kingdom where all the men have complicated relationships with their brothers. Asumiko Nakamura really goes all out on the clothes for this one and it's just gorgeous. There's another volume set to come out early in 2024 and I will cherish every page.

Kowloon Generic Romance, Jun Mayuzuki

I have been in love with Kowloon Generic Romance ever since the end of the first volume completely recontextualized everything that went on before it, and each new volume fills me with even more delight and questions about what's going on with these characters in this very fictional version of Kowloon Walled City. Mayuzuki's art is also super gorgeous and sexy, and I am so ready for the next volume to set my head spinning even more.

10 Dance, Inouesatoh

Finally! A new volume! This series was on hiatus in Japan for a while, so it was understandable, but I rang in 2022 with the previous volume of my beautiful ballroom dancing Shinyas and wasn't entirely sure I'd get to see them at all in 2023. The events of the latest volume were more than a bit of a surprise (sex? in my very charged but not technically explicit ballroom dancing bl manga?), and now I'm even more eager to see what happens next.

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard (light novel), Nanako Tsujimura

I enjoy the Jeweler Richard novels a little more with each new book and this year brought the best part of the story so far to me. This series is such a thoughtful exploration of its characters, from the leads to the recurring side characters to the one-off clients and friends, and I appreciate how deliberately inclusive it is.

Witch Hat Atelier, Kamome Shirahama

It's basically illegal for me to leave Witch Hat Atelier off any yearly list of favorite titles as long as there's new volumes coming out for me to read. With each volume, it feels like we're moving farther and farther away from the bright and shiny new world of magic that Coco first joins, but there's still always this idea that people can and should help others. It isn't necessarily easy, and magic certainly isn't the cure-all, but there's still almost a kind of optimism. I like that, that it's possible to have horrible things happen in a story but there's still light out there.

Ooku, Fumi Yoshinaga

So I finally finished Ooku this year, only 6 years after I first picked it up at the library. Bless Fumi Yoshinaga for being the catalyst for me learning anything about the Tokugawa shogunate and for creating such a fascinating alternate take on history, complete with women leaders who were just as terrible as the original male versions. I can't believe they actually did an anime, however incomplete an adaptation, because I long had that pegged as something that would never ever ever happen with this series.

My Love Mix-Up!, Wataru Hinekure & Aruko

My most favorite cheery gay romcom title also came to an end this year, and going straight for the silliest soap opera trope in the last volume was both perfectly on brand and perfectly suited to the story. I just wish more stories would unabashedly embrace the ridiculous tropes and give me lots of humor alongside the romance.

Lost Lad London, Shima Shinya

Though the conclusion of this series seemed a bit rushed, I really loved how well Shima Shinya captured the feel of a British crime drama all the way through the story's three volumes. I want to see how much they grow with their storytelling in the future, because this was a strong first series.

MADK, Ryo Suzuri

How could my beloved eroguro demon manga end? Ryo Suzuri does such creative work with character design and it's such a shame that I won't get to meet any more cool-looking demons now. But that said, the story really stuck the landing with Makoto's obsession. I can't wait to reread all three volumes so I can fully appreciate just how much changed (and how much didn't change) for him.

[kodanshamanga]

NEW Kodansha Digital+Print:

🕺10 DANCE, Volume 7🕺 By Inouesatoh

💖Suzuki and Sugiki continue their dance lessons together following their breakup, although the pair ultimately decide it’s best to end their relationship to move on.

[hatsumishinogu]

10DANCE Vol.7

[petirrojo57]

I was intrigued by the artwork and premise of “10Dance” by Inoueysatoh and plunked down the $ to get the available series (7 volumes to date) and after reading all of them went ahead and subscribed to the series. Why? Yes, I mentioned the artwork and outline of the story got my attention, but the emotional thread between the two Shinya (Suzuki and Sugiki) really got touched me. I don’t want to spoil the plot for any potential readers, but the things that draw them together and pull them apart are beautifully told, even in the relatively slim outline/constraints of the format.

[10dance]

I remember seeing the news for the second exhibition and being super excited! I was in Japan at the time, if only they could push it a month earlier :')... The new illustrations are so beautiful and I'd really love to see them in the special edition for volume 8 perhaps, even if it's not in the huge print size displayed in the expo.

Thanks to sailorspazz I also bought a set of little Shinya acrylic stands of my own — they are just so so adorable! Sugiki is finally putting his gentlemanly skills to use for his princess.

On yahoo Japan it should still be possible to find the new catalogue and acrylic stands, so if you'd like one too but you're not in Japan, consider buying through a proxy!

Inouesatoh Exhibition 2023

In the summer of 2019, Vanilla Gallery in Tokyo hosted an exhibition for Inouesatoh featuring her 10 Dance art. In July 2023, they announced they would be running a second exhibition from September 7th to the 24th, this time additionally including her works from before 10 Dance, serving to also celebrate the 20th anniversary of her manga career. In addition, there would be new 10 Dance goods for sale, as well as some merch from earlier events. After attending the amazing Real 10 Dance event in February 2023, surely I couldn't justify going to Japan twice in one year for 10 Dance related things, could I...? Well, spoiler alert, I did, so below the cut you'll find my report on attending this special exhibition!

After a rather long trip that included a one-hour technical delay of my first flight and a three-hour weather delay of my second flight due to a typhoon going through Tokyo, I made it to Japan on the evening of September 8th, with my exhibition ticket set for entry at noon on the 9th. After doing various things in the morning such as getting a nice bowl of fresh seafood at Tsukiji, walking around the Hama Rikyu gardens, and stopping by the large Uniqlo in Ginza (where I ended up buying a Magic Knight Rayearth shirt, one of my old fandoms from the 90s lol), I arrived at Vanilla Gallery about 10 minutes before noon, where I saw several other people lined up on the sidewalk. Once the doors opened, we were led down a couple flights of stairs, where the above poster was displayed on one of the landings. Then, after getting to the bottom of the stairs, there were two different rooms labeled A and B. The left side was A, which contained all of the 10 Dance pieces as well as the merch selling area, and the right side was B, which featured Inouesatoh's older works, as well as displays of the 10 Dance art reproductions that were available for pre-order. Everyone headed into the A side first, where all of the walls featured either original drafts (for chapter 31 and earlier) or large digital copies (for chapter 32 onward) of manga pages, plus various illustrations such as volume covers and special colored pages. For the earlier chapters you could see things such as white out, corrections, and notes about which screentones should be used. For the later, digitally created chapters, the pages looked mostly the same as how they were printed, except some were larger and showed bits from the edges of pages that were cut off and hence not fully drawn in detail or screentoned. There were over 100 pieces on display in total; some of the scenes featured included chapter 11's flirting practice, chapter 15's subway makeout session, the entire farewell dance sequence from chapter 33, and Suzuki and Norman's *ahem* "arrangement" from chapter 38.

The absolute "wow" piece was the new artwork created specifically for this exhibition, featuring Suzuki being a devil and angel simultaneously (and Sugiki indulging people who are into feet lol). I had seen some pics of it on Twitter, but it still surprised me with how impressive (and big!) it was in person. It was the only piece that pictures were allowed to be taken of, so here're the shots I took (due to the lighting, I couldn't really get a shot without reflections, unfortunately):

I'm absolutely o b s e s s e d with their expressions.

For a sense of scale, here's a picture Inouesatoh and Teacher shared on Twitter:

In the middle of the room, there was a set-up that included an updated map of the Ginza area that showed more of the locations used in the series (including their route to Tokyo station from chapter 33), a chair that included an artfully draped dance tuxedo, four sketches for merchandise ideas, several flower arrangements celebrating the exhibition/Inoue's 20th anniversary as a manga artist/her birthday (September 10th), and a guestbook for fans to leave messages. I was wary of writing anything at first, since I don't ever practice hand-writing Japanese, so I know my writing is sloppy and it's very difficult to remember how to write kanji from memory (I tried turning to my phone for assistance, but alas did not have a wifi connection in that underground level). But I thought I should still try anyway, so I just wrote a short and simple message congratulating her on the exhibition, saying that I'd come from America to see it and it was great.

Here's an image that Vanilla Gallery shared on Twitter that gives a good view of part of the room:

I then headed over to the B room, where Inouesatoh's earlier works from 2003 to 2011 were featured. Many of the pages included sex scenes, which somewhat amusingly had bits of black tape covering the naughty bits (I saw a fan note on Twitter that if you looked at them from a slanted angle you could totally see under the tape lol). One of the walls also had information about the signed reproductions that could be pre-ordered for delivery in December. There were a variety of colored designs, such as some of the volume covers and the new devil/angel piece, as well as black and white manga page options. The prices were about 37,000 for the colored options, or 18,000 for the black and white. I didn't place an order because I wasn't sure if they would deliver outside of Japan, and didn't know if my friends who live there would be available to receive the artwork in that timeframe. But looking at the store page for previous exhibitions, it's possible these will be offered up online as well, so I'll keep an eye out for a way to throw even more money at this series lol.

Speaking of throwing money at things, yes, I did indulge myself in a bunch of merch! On my first trip to the register, I picked up the tote bag, washi tape, art books for both this exhibition and the previous one, the acrylic stand, two blind pack keychains, and six blind pack art cards. The art cards included five regular designs and one rare special (the new angel/devil piece), and I hoped I could get all of them in one go. I tried to quietly open the packs to see if I'd gotten lucky, and while I did get all of the regular designs, no special was among them. So I bought a second round of six cards, plus two more keychains just because. Again I checked to see if I had gotten the one I wanted, but all I had was doubles/triples of the five regular designs. So I gave it one more shot, six more cards, and again ended up with duplicates. At that point, I figured I shouldn't let myself keep gambling since I'd probably just get more and more duplicates of the ones I already had, so I sadly accepted my fate lol. At least there's a beautiful print of the new art piece in the catalog book for me to stare at.

Though I had wanted to visit some more of the sites used in the series that I didn't get to see on my previous visit (when I had been racing against the clock as it got dark), ultimately I didn't end up having time to go on a full pilgrimage. However, on my last day just before heading to the airport, I wanted to at least visit one of the most important series locations and take a few photos with the adorable acrylic stand. So here I present to you, the Shinyas having a date in their favorite park!

Overall, it was a short but fun trip! I'm glad I was able to go to this exhibition, to see the original drafts in person and admire the craft that went into them. Also to feed my need for merch, I'm so happy to indulge in a more direct form of support than the secondhand goods I've bought before. They will most likely sell whatever items don't sell out on the web store afterward, so I'll update and post that link whenever it becomes available. I hope that this event succeeds and lets Inouesatoh feel the love and encouragement from her fans, inspiring her to keep pushing onward in her now two-decade career in manga!

[lgbtqmanga]

New Releases Sep. 5, 2023

10 Dance vol. 7 by Inouesatoh

IT TAKES TWO

Shinya Sugiki, the dashing lord of Standard Ballroom, and Shinya Suzuki, passionate king of Latin Dance: The two share more than just a first name and a love of the sport. They each want to become champion of the 10-Dance Competition, which means they'll need to learn the other's specialty dances, and who better to learn from than the best? But old rivalries die hard, and things get complicated even further when they realize there might be more between them than an uneasy partnership...

The Moon on a Rainy Night vol. 1 by Kuzushiro

A high school girl's chance encounter with an enigmatic female classmate whose musical aspirations were complicated when an accident almost completely took her hearing leads to the slow blossoming of love. Perfect for fans of yuri series like Whisper Me a Love Song and sweet, sophisticated romances like A Sign of Affection.

One rainy night, Saki is rushing to a piano lesson when she crashes into a beautiful, long-haired girl, dropping her sheet music in the process. Saki stutters an apology, but the girl simply hands back her sheet music and leaves without a word. Saki begins her first day of high school the following morning, only to find the stranger from the night before sitting at the desk next to hers. She learns that the girl's name is Kanon and that she is not quite completely deaf, but very hard of hearing. Though Kanon needs to be close to people to read their lips, she tends to push people away with her icy demeanor. Through one kind gesture, Saki slowly begins breaking down the walls around Kanon, even as she feels something new blossoming within her.

[doronjosama]

This week's (05/17/23) New Comics Day score: 10 Dance v.6 by Inouesatoh! #NewComicsDay #NewComicsWednesday #NewComicBookDay #ncbd #10dance #inouesatoh #comics #manga #graphicnovels #GirlsReadComics #IBleedComics #Fujoshi4Life

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A post shared by Elin Winkler (@doronjosama)

[quality-delusion]

For a manga that has been out since 2012, there is surprisingly little fanart for 10Dance. So, I had to make my own.

[10dance]

10 Dance chapter 42 part 2 preview #3

The next chapter is releasing in just a little over two days, we are so excited to see what Sugiki will say! Apart from the first two previews Inoue has posted on her account, she also added one more sketch and two sneak preview panels of the back of Sugiki's head. The dialogue is covered up, so we don't know what he said. But the tensions are so high... I hope it goes well...

Preview 1 | 2

[chienchaud-et-soupe]

Everybody loves tales of excellence...

Just what the hell are "tales of excellence?"

Tales of excellence are moments when the incredible meets reality: some hick kid duels and bests the Devil with nothing but a fiddle, a bum from Philly goes toe to toe with the undisputed boxing heavyweight champion of the world, a warrior with a pure heart and born of rage rises to defeat Space-Napoleon-Hitler. These tales put to page, screen, and radio a story that captures the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere. The manga industry's full of tournament arcs, which lend themselves well to these tales; one strange tale dances above the competition.

Inouesatoh lets readers bear witness to one of manga's most overlooked tales of excellence during Suzuki Shinya's fiery and rebellious debut on the international dance scene.

How can a manga about the most boring thing possible -ballroom dancing- ever compare to Akira Toriyama or Yusuke Murata?

It can't.

Dragonball and One Punch Man capture the fantastic through fantastical settings and powers.

10 Dance manages to capture the fantastic through the ordinary, everyday setting that we live in.

Inouesatoh uses that which you could find in any battle manga. Powerscaling. Spectators. An underdog. It's all done with basic moves, exactly as the lead Suzuki Shinya does during the tournament arc.

10 Dance doesn't fit neatly into any single subgenre. It's a romance, of course, but it isn't just romance. You can neither place it neatly into a box labeled "battle manga," nor a box labeled "slice of life." 10 Dance feels, like many other great manga, a piece that transcends its medium. That sounds great, but there's no proof...

It is time to make the tragically-too-small pond of 10 Dance posts bigger. In the future you'll be able to find posts that expand on the serialization's effective use of:

Powerscaling

Spectators

Musical Lemotif

The idea of powerscaling in a dancing manga seems ridiculous. It is, and it absolutely works.

Months ago before my first read through, I'd cock a smirk and think, "Imagine actually reading 10 Dance."

If your looking for something new with an empahsis on character development and synergy (aka banter), consider reading the manga about the ever-exhilirating-sounding world of ballroom dancing as seen through the lives of two soulmates.

You might just pleasantly surprise yourself with something excellent.

[hatsumishinogu]

10DANCE Vol.7 (Special Edition)

[kero-reviews]

Happy Monday!!

This Week I’m Reading:

Whispered Words Volume 3 by Takashi Ikeda

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

and The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

And I Read:

Bloom Into You Volume 2 by Nakatani Nio

Citrus Volume 2 by Saburouta

To Take An Enemy’s Heart Volume 1 by Yusa

Now Loading...! by Mikan Uji

Fruits Basket: Banquet by Natsuki Takaya

10 Dance Volumes 1&2 by Inouesatoh

My Solo Exchange Diary Volumes 1&2 by Nagata Kabi

and Phatom Dream Volume 1 by Natsuki Takaya

Hello! I hope your week is going well!!

For the first time in a while, I met my weekly goal of 5 books! I hope I can continue this. It helps that the next couple manga on my pile are ones I’ve been very excited to read for a while!

This week I hope to finish Whispered Words, which only has three volumes, and was a high favorite of mine during my Pride Month reading! I also plan on getting further into Cinder for my book club with @books-take-flight , which I am enjoying immensely.

Bloom Into You and Citrus were also books that came out of my Pride Month binge, and I loved getting further into them! I forgot how much I enjoyed both of the series and can’t wait to read the next volume.

I also finished Nagata Kabi’s Solo Exchange Diaries, which were absolutely magical. Seeing her struggle through life’s difficult problems (such as mental health, loneliness, and family) is not only inspiring, but relatable. She lays out each step of her path to better health, and doesn’t cut out any of the unpleasant parts. She shows every detail to not only help herself grow, but to show her readers that recovery is not linear. Sometimes a previous revelation turns out to be false, requiring you to learn how to grow beyond missteps and get yourself back on the right track.

Finally, I started 10 Dance. I was a little skeptical of it, as these were thrift store purchases, but I ended up absolutely loving them! The relationship between the two Shinyas, is so sweet as they grow closer while trying to strive further in their careers. I can’t wait to continue reading to see their story!

I hope you all enjoy your books and have a Happy Spooktober!

-Kero

[sailorspazz]

10 Dance - chapter 40, part 1 summary

[Notice: if you are here looking for what happens immediately after the end of volume 7, you'll actually want to check out Chapter 39 part 6 before this one! The chapter was released in many pieces, and only the first 5 of those 6 were included in volume 7.]

Following the Japan International, where Sugiki froze up and could not perform the honor dance, Max takes him back to his place to offer advice. In a discussion that includes topics such as Sugiki's inability to seek help and his ongoing feelings for Suzuki, Max also receives a shock when the tables are turned and his own romantic pursuits are brought into question.

Full summary and highlight images under the cut.

Chapter 40, part 1: Come On-a My Life

Published online on June 9th, 2023, available to purchase on Comic Days, or rent for 10 days on Yanmaga.

A freshly showered, robe-clad Sugiki sits curled up on a bed inside Max’s mansion. Max comes over and tosses a towel to him, saying he looks disgraceful and needs to dry his hair. He says he’d gone to the competition just to see the dancing of the so-called Emperor, and wonders what was up with the lackluster performance Sugiki gave. He sighs and tells Sugiki that he needs to ask for help when he needs it. As he lights a cigar, he asks how anyone could expect to receive the help they need by relying solely on others reaching out to them. Sugiki says that he’s always been surrounded by kind onlookers. Max states that that’s because even if Sugiki were about to drown he probably wouldn’t even raise his hand to seek aid. He wonders why it’s so hard for Sugiki to voice his needs, and complains that he’s a pain to deal with. He’s interrupted as the ashes from his cigar burn his bare foot, and Sugiki takes the chance to say he’s grateful, which garners a shocked look from Max. Sugiki says he appreciates the things Max has done to take his attention away from Suzuki; that feeling of detachment from the real world he had while he was accompanying Max on his adventures did allow him to forget for a while. He stretches and sighs, then confides in Max that he can’t control his feelings. It seems unnatural for Suzuki to no longer be by his side, to no longer be able to touch him, and ponders how this feeling could not be considered love.

He wonders why Suzuki kneeled down and begged at his feet, thinking he might have wanted to do the same thing. He feels a bit defeated that he can’t quite put his thoughts together coherently. He’s then struck by the scent permeating the air, and asks if it’s from the pieces of wood Max used to light his cigar. Max says he used cedar sticks, and though he rarely uses this method to light them, on days like today it has a useful effect in that it can create a calming environment.

Getting back on the subject, Max muses about how this whole saga started because of the 10 Dance, asking if Sugiki planned all of this to satisfy his own ego. Though the story didn’t turn out like he imagined, Max asks if Sugiki would be satisfied if it all ended here. If he values Suzuki so much that he wants to grovel at his feet, then he needs to become useful to him. There are multiple choices Sugiki can make from here, and Max says in his own case he chose to let go of the one he desired (referring to the man he was pursuing in Inouesatoh’s previous work Gloria). It still hurts, but he doesn’t regret it, because even though he was never able to earn his love, he’s still proving himself to be useful to him in other ways. Sugiki asks if this has something to do with the glasses Max tried to gift him with before, and Max confirms that it does, saying Sugiki looks a bit like him, though this other man is older and wears glasses. Meanwhile, Sugiki gets up and starts to get dressed out in the open, while Max silently appreciates the view he glimpses when he turns his head. He thinks about how it looks like he’s got a body that can withstand a lot, and he internally comes to some decision (unspecified from the point-of-view of the readers).

Sugiki asks if the man Max is talking about is Norman, which shocks Max and makes him ask why he’d bring up Edward. Sugiki is confused about who Edward refers to, and Max explains that both he and Norman share the middle name Edward, which Norman hates. Max claims that he hates that irritating brat right back, and says that the one he loves wears glasses, is standoffish, doesn’t listen to a word he says, and is a striking man who sometimes looks villainous. Sugiki points out that Norman fits all of those descriptors. Max protests that he and Norman have never gotten along, and the one he’s after is a Japanese man he met much later on. Sugiki says that Lucas told him Max and Norman have known each other since way back, and though it might seem at first glance that they don’t get along, once Max lays eyes on Norman he’ll definitely try to flirt with him.

Max defensively counters that it’s only because Norman is such a rare species. Sugiki wonders what he means, and Max explains that Norman is a surviving descendant of a bloodline that supposedly died out long ago that has ties to the royal family. Though his relatives are trying to keep it hidden at all costs, Max is sure that it’s true, as he spent a significant amount of his precious time and ample resources researching it. Sugiki states that it seems like he spent all that time and money just so he could get to know Norman better, and Max starts to agree, but then calls Sugiki a brat and says he seems to be back to his normal attitude. With that being the case, he suggests that they have some drinks. He asks what Sugiki would like, to which he replies he’ll have rum. Max says that they should stop quarreling like kids and move on to talking about more mature subjects. He puts on his glasses and declares that he has a proposal.

Previous chapter: #39 part 6

Next chapter: #40 part 2

[otevclown]

Book gate

It’s gonna be a mix (cause I don’t like to read but I also had to read for my ya lit class and it was actually enjoyable)

1. No more dead dogs by Gordon Korman

2. 10 dance by Inouesatoh

3. Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura 

4. Count of Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas 

5. Fightclub by Chuck Palahniuk

6. Rollergirl by Victoria Jamieson

7. March book 1 by Andrew Aydin and John Lewis 

8. Again by Mitsurou Kubo 

9. Shiver by Junji Ito

[doronjosama]

New Comics Day (aka Cleaning Out My Sub Box) scores for this week: 10 Dance v.5 by Inouesatoh and An Incurable Case of Love v.2 by Maki Enjoji! #newcomicsday #newcomicswednesday #newcomicbookday #comics #manga #comiccollector #comicshopgirl #storecredit #10dance #inouesatoh #kodanshacomics #kodansha #anincurablecaseoflove #makienjoji #vizmedia #cleaningoutmysubbox #girlsreadcomics #ibleedcomics #fujoshi4life https://www.instagram.com/p/CEGKeQVjt6J/?igshid=1b666x4nzl37