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recentanimenews · 3 years ago

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J-Novel Club Announces Five New Titles During Livestream

Publisher J-Novel Club announced the acquisition of five new titles during an industry livestream today, including four light novels and one manga adaptation. Chapters of all of the titles will be available to check out today via J-Novel Club's website and app.

Here's an overview of the latest to join the library:

Goodbye Otherworld, See You Tomorrow

Author: Kazamidori

Illustrator: Nimoshi

Synopsis:

The world he woke up in is long dead, dusted in ashen powder, and yet Keisuke still sees splashes of color as he travels through it. For the longest time, he’s wandered alone across the deserted landscape, clinging to the hope that something—or someone—might be out there in the emptiness. When he finally stumbles across that someone, even more threads of color start to seep into the ashen world around them.

This time, when Keisuke sets off down the road, someone sits beside him in the passenger seat. The first acquaintance he’s ever made here, his first companion in this barren world. They’re both traveling in search of something, and after searching alone for so long, maybe they’ll have better luck working together? Their only lead is a witch who can answer any question—for a price. What will the two ask her, and what will she be able to tell them? More importantly, what will it cost them, and will they be willing to pay the price?

Private Tutor to the Duke's Daughter

Author: Riku Nanano

Illustrator: cura

Synopsis:

After failing the final exam for his dream job at the royal court, promising young sorcerer Allen wants nothing more than to retreat to a simple life in the countryside. Unfortunately for him, he can’t even afford the train fare! His only solution is to get a job, but his one lead is anything but modest—Duke Howard, one of the kingdom’s most powerful nobles, needs a private tutor for his daughter Tina.

Despite her academic brilliance, Tina is incapable of casting even a single spell. To make matters worse, entrance exams for the prestigious Royal Academy are fast approaching, and magical aptitude is mandatory! Can Allen use his unique brand of spellcasting to help Tina overcome her magical impairment, a mystery that not even the kingdom’s finest sorcerers have been able to solve? And does her father, the duke, even want him to?

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte

Author: Suzu Enoshima

Illustrator: Eihi

Synopsis:

One day, Crown Prince Sieg hears the Voices of the Gods out of the blue. Apparently, his fiancée Lieselotte is a “tsun de rais” villainess destined to meet her demise...and her sharp tongue is just a way of covering up her embarrassment. The prince can hardly contain himself after discovering Lieselotte's adorable hidden side. Little does he know, the heavenly beings that bestowed this knowledge unto him are actually high schoolers!

Can he use their divine prophecy (let’s play commentary) to save his betrothed and avoid a Bad End?!

Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers

Author: Isle Osaki

Illustrator: Tam-U

Synopsis:

Makoto Takatsuki is a normal high school student and a hardcore RPG player. However, “normal” goes out the window when his whole class is involved in a bus crash and whisked away to another world! Powerful gods rule this strange new land of magic and monsters, and every newcomer is blessed with strong stats and unique skills. Well, not quite. Makoto’s stats turn out to be pathetic, and his skills are super weak compared to his classmates’...he’s even stuck as an apprentice mage. Worse still, he’s given only ten years to live!

Luckily, Makoto soon meets a minor goddess named Noah, who appears in Makoto’s dreams and asks him to become her first believer. With the help of Noah's blessings and a divine weapon, Makoto seeks to become strong enough to rescue his goddess from the dungeon where she’s been trapped. By training hard and using his weak skills in unorthodox ways, Makoto proves that, even when playing on hardcore difficulty, an RPG player always makes it to the end!

J-Novel Club also licensed the manga adaptation of the above series, which comes from Hakuto Shiroi. That one also launches today with the first chapter of volume 1.

Source: Press release

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Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his comics at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.

By: Joseph Luster

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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transtrendhumanity · 8 years ago

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lets talk about vex memories.

cws for... non-sexual dubious consent, sexual content, violence, animal death, disordered eating, illness... hopefully thats it?

ey started having dreams about eir shun lifetime during the time ey was about 13 in eir rohan lifetime. or nightmares, really. about hiding, about running, about being cornered and fighting for eir life, about losing friends and loved ones... eir parents, alarmed by these frequent nightmares, put eir in therapy. ey wasn’t particularly impressed with eir therapist, and didn’t stay long, but one thing did stick: draw out your dreams. ey started with simple illustrations, and moved on to short comics, posting all of it as a dream diary online. it became something of an underground hit. although extremely non-linear and disjointed, the comics told a clear story.

after drawing it for two years, ey began to receive offers to write a manga. ey was skeptical of it at first. after all, ey didn’t particularly have a story so much as a near-compulsive need to catalogue eir dreamscape.

at some point though, ey did accept an offer, and start writing a manga. pink dark boy was the story of a boy living in a somewhat surreal world, with both the terrible luck to be constantly in trouble and the excellent luck to always survive it. at first, it was based on real life horror stories, accounts of criminal activities, ghosts, and demons. ey found people with these stories on the web and interviewed them to the best of eir ability, in person when possible, but often by phone or even over forums instead. eir curiosity was insatiable.

during this time, ey grew into mental illness. paranoia and hallucinations of shadow people. the fear both of being watched, judged, and of being ignored and forgotten. eir fears featured prominently in eir work. the shadow people became an overarching plot thread, destined to be the end-game villains, the orchestrators of all pink dark boy’s bad luck. his struggles became more and more public, and the public would always turn a blind eye, or worse, a silently judgemental one.

eir work quickly overtook eir schooling, and ey went from attending sporadically to dropping out entirely towards the end of 11th grade. eir parents questioned the decision, but even they couldn’t deny the cashflow eir comics were generating.

ey moved out and to tokyo. for a short time, ey accepted assistants, but ey rapidly became paranoid that they were working to sabotage eir work. eir accusations of such became a small scandal, but didn’t significantly affect eir sales. ey worked alone after that.

ey worked tirelessly, like a person possessed. often ey would not eat or sleep for days at a time, and often ey would end up miraculously ahead of schedule, despite eir lack of assistance. ey took these opportunities to go interview more people.

eir interviews turned to more and more invasive questions. rumors about eir abounded: that ey was not only an eccentric but a creep, or worse. ey resolutely refused to pay mind to the rumours, but they contributed greatly to eir paranoia.

perhaps because of the stress, or perhaps because of eir terrible lack of self care, or perhaps because of a glitch in eir reincarnation, ey developed terrible stomach problems. too paranoid to consult a doctor about it, ey suffered in silence, half-convinced that the shadow people had laid a curse upon eir. besides the pain, ey began to cough up blood.

though ey was determined not to tell anyone, eir editor did eventually find out. it was her opinion that ey was pushing eirself too hard, and that living in the city was contributing to eir stress, and surely it would be better for eir to move back to the countryside, with eir family.

ey resented the idea, and put up a great deal of resistance, but eventually, in a moment of clarity, realized that she was at least partly right. in a spiteful move, ey researched which towns had the highest rates of unsolved murder, and was surprised to find eir hometown near the top of the list.

curious beyond measure, ey moved back to morioh.

during the time ey had been away, ey had scarcely contacted eir parents at all. they complained that they only knew about eir continued survival because eir comics still came out every month, but “they’re so dreary, can’t you write about something happy for once?” additionally, during the time ey had been away, ey had moved from presenting as a dour and asocial tomboy to presenting as an actual boy, and had started hrt without a word to them.

ey didn’t tell them ey moved back. they found out on their own, and visited without warning. shocked by the changes in eir presentation, they said some unsavory things, and vex kicked them out of eir home, yelling that they had best not come back.

they didn’t.

ey sometimes regretted it. growing up, eir parents had made every effort to be supportive, and ey thought that perhaps if ey had reciprocated the gesture, ey could still have some manner of good relationship with them. with any human being other than eir editor. but more often, ey was overcome with paranoia that they resented eir success, and their visit had only been the precursor to trying to take advantage of em.

when ey was hit with the arrow, ey thought it was another nightmare, though for the past couple years ey had been sleeping poorly and sporadically enough to have no dreams worth remembering.

ey posted one final update to eir dream journal, a revival after years of silence. that ey had, after years of running and hiding and loss, lost for the last time, and been killed by an arrow to the throat.

many fans complained that it had been a better story without the ending, and that the last update felt tonally dissonant from the rest of the work.

thereafter, ey found that eir interviews went differently. at first, it was that ey was able to ask more and more invasive questions and still receive an unflustered straight answer. then ey noticed the texturing on the side of eir subjects’ faces.

reaching out, ey was able to simply open them up. the first time it happened, ey spent a full 6 hours reading the entire life story of the person he was interviewing, and then closed them and asked a variety of questions to confirm eir findings.

ey wasn’t sure at first if ey had further gone mad or if ey had gained a new power, but that didn’t stop eir from using it. it took a while for eir to draw the connection between the thank-you doodles ey would draw as a formality at the beginning of most interviews and the response of eir powers.

during this time, pink dark boy became more tangible in eir thoughts, slowly developing from an oc to a headmate before manifesting in canon events as eir stand.

the first time ey attempted modifying someone’s story, it was as a last measure. ey was interviewing a girl whose friend had gone missing, and noticed that she had a crush on eir. wildly uncomfortable with the idea, ey simply crossed it out.

she woke up unsure why she was even there, visibly disappointed by the thank-you sketch she had been elated to receive not moments before.

this opened up a world of possibilities. if ey could affect someone’s heart so intimately, surely ey could affect their memory for short times, as well. and it turned out that ey could.

before all of this, ey had a keen interest in gore, but very little actual experience. ey worried constantly that this showed in eir work, that it was seen as a weakness. what little experience ey did have involved dissecting road kill.

but now the doors were open for eir to attempt human experimentation. how much pain could one person tolerate before passing out or throwing up? how quickly did blood well up? how far could you bend a person’s shoulder before it dislocated?

with each experiment, ey wrote into the victim that they would forget the entire encounter, and further, wrote in an explanation for any damage done. some were easier to explain away than others. for safety’s sake, ey tried to keep eir experiments to people without close friends or family. people whose injuries would go largely unquestioned.

ey kept these activities to a minimum while jotaro was in town, knowing that he would take issue with them. we won’t go into detail about canon, since most of it is largely unchanged.

post canon, ey continued hanging out with the gang of teenagers, or being pestered by them.

koichi was eir favorite for a long time, but while koichi liked eir well enough, it eventually became clear that ey wasn’t their favorite person to be around.

josuke, on the other hand, seemed to delight in pestering em. ey found it a bother at first. they got in the way of eir work, they messed around in eir house, they invited themself along when ey went sightseeing. eventually, ey got used to their presence, although it would be a long time yet before ey admitted any fondness.

eventually, ey got comfortable enough with josuke to invite them along on one of their interviews. they would be useful, ey thought. ey wouldn’t have to explain away any injury if josuke healed it for em.

josuke was wildly opposed to the idea. though by this point they’d known each other for two years, they hadn’t had an argument on this scale since they met.

josuke threatened to break vex’s wrist, and ey gave in before they followed through. they both went home in a huff.

several days of brooding later, josuke showed up at vex’s place once again. with a proposition: you stop harming random civilians, and in return, i’ll allow you to do to me what you wanted to do to them. within reason, of course.

vex told them that was a stupid idea, they couldn’t heal themself, after all. but they insisted, and eventually, vex gave in.

feeling vengeful that they were taking away the greatest outlet for eir artistic curiosity, the first few experiements ey tried on them were harsh and painful, beyond what ey would usually indulge in.

josuke complained about it: you’re a sick freak, doing this to a fine young thing like me. (you’re an adult /now/, vex retorted.) and other complaints besides. but they continued to bear whatever vex chose to put them through, never running away or skipping out.

eventually, vex discovered a secret: that they were, not all the time but often enough, getting off on it. that between their inherent masochism and the specific way vex looked at them, they didn’t mind the situation nearly as much as their complaining made it seem.

vex was originally disgusted by this tidbit, but grew curious as time went on. eventually, ey introduced a sexual aspect to eir experimentations. what did josuke look like getting off? how many times could ey get them to come? how much edging could they stand?

josuke still complained, loudly and frequently, about vex’s masochism. but they had reached an understanding, now. that they were both benefiting from this in some way. vex felt more comfortable knowing this: that it was not josuke’s heroic nature motivating them, but a selfish desire to be hurt.

somewhere along the line, josuke roped vex into more benign experiences.

somewhere along the line, they admitted that they were dragging em out on dates.

somewhere along the line, vex discovered that ey was perfectly ok with that.

(in the background, koichi and yukako dated for a long while, to the point where koichi’s parents started teasing him about marriage. he complained about this to vex, but still got flustered when vex asked if there was any validity to the teasing.)

#[vex]#[memories]

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kodanshamanga · 1 year ago

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NEW Kodansha Digital:

🧑‍🌾That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside, Volume 4🧑‍🌾 By Kumagae

📄The seeds of spring plant ideas in Kuma’s head, getting his hands dirty not just in the fields but in the world of manga once again

#that time the manga editor started a new life in the countryside #manga #manga ka #cottagecore #cottage aesthetic

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kodanshamanga · 1 year ago

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Kodansha Digital:

🌾That Time the Manga Editor Started a New Life in the Countryside, Volume 3🌾 By Kumagae and Hishiwo Miyazawa

🚜As winter rolls in and rice is off the table, Kuma gets a crash course in his next possible venture.

#that time the manga editor started a new life in the countryside #manga #kodansha #slice of life #manga artist

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recentanimenews · 5 years ago

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OPINION: I Don't Know Who'll Win the Anime Awards, But Here's Who Should

Hi, everyone. My name is Kyle. I just started at Crunchyroll as an Editor last October. While I am new to the company, I am definitely not new to one thing in particular: having opinions about anime. With the Anime Awards upon us, I know just how many of those are flung across the dinner table, on Twitter, and wherever good anime is streamed.

In previous years, I watched the Anime Awards as a regular citizen. I voted alongside the general public, even for the previous "Best Manga" category! But this is my first time working on the show and seeing how the sausage is made FROM THE INSIDE. There's an incredible amount of work and energy that goes into making the event happen from people who don't get enough credit, and it's really incredible to be amongst a talented team.

But despite that.

Not only do I disagree with some of the choices, but some of the best stuff wasn't even nominated!

So today, I'm presenting you with some of my choices for Anime Awards winners [that are objectively correct choices that I think absolutely should win, despite what anyone else tells you. Anyone else who says otherwise are liars and don't know what they are talking about, but I do!] for a select few categories. If you really want to know who I'm cheering for this year, here's my card.

1. Best Fight Scene: Gio-Gio VS Cioccolatta (JoJo's Bizzare Adventure: Golden Wind)

How did this not get nominated? Seriously? It's the Seven-Page Muda! I couldn't believe it when I heard this didn't make the cut. It's one of the best scenes in all of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure! Unbelievable. Gio-Gio punches a guy for like 45 seconds! Ugh. Well, this scene also included Giorno's theme, which is a Best Score winner within itself, too. If I had to choose an actual nominee, Tanjiro and Nezuko vs. Rui should win, I guess. You all really loved that episode 19.

2. Best Girl and Protagonist: Emma in The Promised Neverland

The Promised Neverland had one of the strongest starts to a show I've seen in a while, but it wouldn't be anything without the main trio of Emma, Norman, and Ray. I bundled together my vote for Best Girl and Best Protagonist to Emma because I don't think I've seen a character so positive in such a perilous situation. And I don't even mean in an over-the-top, exaggerated anime way. Emma is incredibly smart and knows exactly what she wants: for everyone to have a fair shot at living. Even working with the cold, calculating, logic-centric Ray, she has a "but we still have to try" attitude that resonates in the face of absolute despair. That sort of worldview really spoke to me this last year, and for that Emma deserves to take both categories.

3. Best Boy: Bucciarati in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind

The original Gang-Star! The one who can taste lies and be a living corpse out of the sheer power of friendship (and spite). Bruno Bucciarati has it all. It takes a lot of leadership to try to overthrow an entire criminal organization, and if you can do some cool rocket-punches and have a killer style while doing it, what else can qualify you more for Best Boy? JoJo is all about their killer (pun intended) one-liners, and Bucciarati has one of the series' best. Yuichi Nakamura also earned my vote for "Best Voice Actor Performance (Japanese)" for pulling off such an iconic role. Here's to you, my favorite bowl-cut boy.

4. Best Opening Sequence: Carole and Tuesday's "Kiss Me"

I have directed and storyboarded this Opening for Carole & Tuesday. The show is now on Netflix for everyone. director of the show is Shinichiro Watanabe. https://t.co/JeSAvIacwS

— BAHIJD バヒ・JD (@bahijd) August 31, 2019

Not only is Kiss Me a great opener, this vote really goes to Bahi JD, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite animators. Seriously, have you seen his work?

5. Best Director: Kunihiko Ikuhara for Sarazanmai

Kunihiko Ikuhara at his own exhibit

Did you know a lot of people have a lot of opinions about Kunihiko Ikuhara's work? I sure didn't know what I was getting myself into when I finally started watching his stuff last year. I only just watched Revolutionary Girl Utena last year when I found out the fine people at Nozomi Entertainment fully uploaded the series. I was really immersed in Utena's world and all the metaphors that I did or did not fully comprehend. Sarazanmai was the first Ikuhara project I was able to watch as it aired, riding the wave with everyone else and trying to figure out what the series was saying. Sarazanmai became appointment television for me in a world that increasingly doesn't even bother with the concept. I can totally understand if Sarazanmai is not your favorite Ikuhara show. He seems to have been reined in a little (either by his own volition or by someone else) as his stories have been comparatively condensed—Utena was 39 episodes compared to Penguindrum's 24, Yurikuma Arashi's 12, and Sarazanmai's 11. Even though I'm new to his work, I think one thing is perfectly clear: You never know what you're going to get. Equally important, he's willing to use stories as a way to talk about topics a lot of other artists wouldn't dare nor bother with. There's something to be said about making a series about little kappa boys so fun, insightful, and empathetic.

6. Anime of the Year: Vinland Saga

When I took a final look at my choices, I noticed that I actually didn't choose Vinland Saga for a lot of the individual awards. "Best Drama" and Askeladd for "Best Antagonist"? Absolutely, no contest. But there were so many other good anime last year I believe deserve their respective rewards in the other categories. So why did I vote for Vinland Saga for Anime of the Year in the end? Vinland Saga was one of those series I always heard about; That it was one of those truly incredible series. But either it wasn't available legally (until 2013 from Kodansha USA) or it was just too daunting to start. When the anime finally started in July last year, there was no better time to see what all the hype was about. There's something to be said about a show that perfectly transports you to a time and place and Vinland Saga did exactly that. WIT Studio's incredible art direction made me feel like I was in the old English countryside, back when castles were no more than fortified wooden buildings, and what it was like to look across the incredible vastness over a cliff or across the ocean. And in this time of overwhelming nature and space is an incredible story about a young boy who succumbs to the corrupting force of hatred while living in a culture that celebrates the road to death. The tragedy of seeing Thorfinn, a young boy raised to be so eager about battle, drowned in his own revenge after seeing the death of his father—who deliberately left a life of killing so his son wouldn't have to—is a gripping and, honestly, sad experience. More than anything, watching Vinland Saga made me actually feel like I was watching an Epic (in the traditional definition): Once I started, I was going to be invested in the foundational change of this world and the characters, which simultaneously felt so concentrated among the cast in the moment, but held far-ranging consequences over the horizon. I've pitched Vinland Saga to those unfamiliar as "Berserk without the fantasy," and I mean that with the utmost praise.

Also, both openings from Survive Said The Prophet and Man With A Mission absolutely slap.

We're coming to a point within the anime industry where there's not much left untouched: Many of the critical hits are being developed and a lot of the old "forgotten" series are finally getting adaptations. We saw this with Devilman crybaby in 2018 and Fruits Basket last year, for example. Vinland Saga captures that same feeling of a great finally having the spotlight. After I looked at the other nominees for Anime of the Year, I couldn't have voted for anyone else.

Anyway, here's me tomorrow when all of these choices are correct:

Who did you vote for in this year's Anime Awards? Let us know in the comments below!

---

Kyle Cardine is an Editor for Crunchyroll. You can find his Twitter here!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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recentanimenews · 5 years ago

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Anime NYC 2019, Day Two

Saturday started with a live drawing from TAa, the author of Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family. Denpa’s panel Friday did not have much time to introduce her, so this was very welcome. She loves Fate, and her art is excellent – throughout the panel she drew Saber smiling and holding a rice bowl.

TAa started doing Fate fanart as a hobby, then was asked to do a chapter for an anthology, which is how she got a foot in the door. She was then approached to do the EMiya Family manga as a one-shot, and then when it was successful it got picked up as a series. She did that plus her day job for a year and a half, then this became too much, and now she draws manga full time.

She has assistants now, but did not at first, which shows how much work she was putting into the series. As for Fate itself, she got into the series through Fate/Zero, then bought the FSN game and became totally obsessed with it – this is why she started to draw art. She also loved Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, FSN’s sequel game, though notes it’s very hard to find these days. (One of the Emiya Family chapters with Assassin was almost an adaptation of a scene from Ataraxia.)

Ed Chavez, who was the moderator of the live drawing, talked about how cute and soft the anime was, and also the time and budget that UFOTable put into it. When she first heard about the anime, TAa thought she was being pranked! It was a rapid production from inception to release date – possibly as the company is so familiar with the Fate characters. She also got some new ideas discussing things with the anime staff.

When thinking of a new idea for a chapter, usually the food idea comes first, then she thinks of the characters that best suit that food. She also incorporates a lot of seasons and holidays. Type-Moon has almost no involvement at all – this is all her.

We then got some Q&A. She enjoys Japanese food as her comfort food, says obviously she’d want Shirou to cook for her if she had a choice. She and the editor do eat the meals that are in the manga – a tonkatsu was her favorite, though that chapter is not published yet. She was then asked what her favorite characters are to draw – she loves long-haired characters, particularly Rider.

Someone asked if we might see Bazett, the star of Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, and someone else asked if the mysterious robed figure hanging out with Gilgamesh is Caren rather than Kirie. She hedged on the second, but definitely has Bazett in mind for a future chapter if she can think of a good way to introduce her and incorporate the food. Someone also asked about New York City food in the manga – Shirou buys bagels for everyone?

It was agreed that the flashback episode with Shirou and Kiritsugu was the best of the anime episodes. She tries to keep the series very kind and “happy in life” – since Fate was a big battle game originally, she wanted to see more of the day-to-day life. As such, don’t expect a lot of Zero characters or the Lancer “hot dog” joke from Ataraxia. This series is too nice and sweet for things like that.

This is considered the right time for a series to come out – not because cooking manga are new in popularity – in Japan, they’ve always been popular – but because of the popularity of Fate, which ten years ago was not as high. She was also asked her favorite heroine, and the audience tensed – it’s a dangerous question. She likes them all, but picked Saber.

My next panel was Square Enix, which was doing its first Anime NYC panel. After quite a bit of audio difficulty, we started with a video showing off SE’s most famous properties. Tanya Biswas (formerly with Yen) and Leyla Aker (formerly with Viz) are the people behin things in America, with Masa also on the panel as the Square Enix rep. Masa has been to this con before, notes how fun it always is.

They did a recap of prior licenses, and trailers for two of them. Most of these have been talked about before – A Man and His Cat, Cherry Magic and Soul Eater’s Perfect Edition got the most talk. They also gave away A Man and His Cat merch, including a fantastic plushie. We then got several new announcements.

Ragna Crimson is a dark fantasy title from Gangan Joker. A man sets out to get revenge on the dragons who destroyed his partner. The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) is probably the title I was most interested in. A woman working in the palace and trying to keep a low profile is found to have knowledge of herbal medicine, and after saving a royal heir, she’s promoted and ends up involved in palace intrigues. She’s apparently quite eccentric. This runs in Big Gangan.

Beauty and the Feast (Yakumo-san wa Edzuke ga Shitai) is a May-December romance, sort of, as a 28-year-old widow finds herself cooking for her 16-year-old neighbor, and food (and possibly romance, but mostly food) follows. It runs in Young Gangan. The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! (Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai!) is a Gangan Joker title about a former demon villainess who’s now in modern Japan and also a cute little girl. Can she get her poweres back? Can her frustration stop being cute? Likely no to both questions.

By the Grace of the Gods (Kamitachi ni Hirowareta Otoko) just had its novel licensed by J-Novel Club. It’s from SE’s MangaUP! app and stars a reincarnated salaryman reincarnated as a boy with magic powers, who discovers that slimes are more valuable than you’d expect. Finally, we get the only novel of the panel, NieR Automata – Yorha Boys. It’s a prequel to the game, and another novel in a series which has already had some novels released by Viz Media.

Next up was Yen Press, who had a ton of new books and also a ton of light novels. The biggest surprise came first – High School DxD, whose manga was licensed in 2014, finally is getting the light novels released. This was a constant request, right up there with Date a Live and Gamers!. I recall not liking the first manga much, but suspecting I’d be more interested in a prose version. Now I get to see if I’m right.

They alternated between manga and novel announcements, so next was Bestia, a Shonen Ace series about a boy who goes to London to discover his past and finds magical beasts and adventure. We then got another surprise LN – High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World, whose manga started coming out in 2018, from the creator of Chivalry of a Failed Knight, also recently licensed.

Lust Geass is a Young Ace title that will play well with fans of ecchi manga, the story of a boy who finds a spell that will cause women’s sexual desires to explode. Restaurant to Another World has already had a manga release digitally via Crunchyroll, but Yen are now going to be releasing it in print. And another light novel, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy (Seiken Gakuin no Maken Tsukai) which combines demon lords and magical academies – two hot genres in one!

A monster girl harem manga came next, To Save the World, Can You Wake Up the Morning After with a Demi-Human? (Sekai wo Sukuu Tame ni Ajin to Asa-chun Dekimasenka?). It turns out our hero is destined to father the hero who will defeat the demon king… and so everyone wants to sleep with him. (When did Yen Press become Seven Seas?) Another light novel follows, more on the slow life side: Banished from the Heroes’ Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside (Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasareta node, Henkyou de Slow Life suru Koto ni Shimashita), a Kadokawa series whose title is its premise.

Sadako at the End of the World (Shuumatsu no Sadako-san) is a post-apocalyptic Sadako manga, where she finds that those who watched the videotape are delighted to see her, as she’s another human being in this wasteland. It sounds fun, is complete in one volume, and ran in Comic Gene. Another light novel, In the Land of Leadale (Leadale no Daichi nite), about a girl with injuries who ends up in a game world. Judging by the cover, this is also a slow life series.

A yuri manga is next: I Love You So Much I Hate You (Nikurashii hodo Aishiteru). A Kadokawa manga, it’s an office life yuri title with adult concerns and problems. The last novel announced is a one-shot, Three Days of Happiness (Sugaru Miaki), a dark fantasy about a young man who sells his lifespan for cash. It’s apparently quite interesting. Lastly, Yen has licensed the Carole and Tuesday manga, based on the anime, which runs in Young Ace.

Q&A then started, but remembering how excruciating that was last year, I left early.

My last stop was J-Novel Club’s panel, with Sam Pinansky and Aimee Zink introducing a giant pile of new series. They started with two new print announcements – Sexiled, which has had huge buzz ever since it came out, and My Next Life As a Villainess!, which is also getting an anime next year. (More villainesses are coming later in this panel.)

Kodansha has a new imprint called Legend Novels, and from it JNC licensed five new novels. (No new manga announcements this time, these are all novels.) The Economics of Prophecy: Avoiding Disaster in Another World (Yogen no Keizaigaku) seems to be along the lines of Realist Hero, as a reincarnated economics whiz and a princess with prophetic abilities try to save the world.

Kobold King features a gentle man who was very powerful and respected in his time trying to quietly relax and befriend the local kobolds… who are very mistrusting of his powerful self! Outer Ragna (Game Jikkyō ni yoru Kōryaku to Gyakushū no Isekai Kami Senki) doesn’t have the Japanese protagonist, a livestreamer, enter a game world himself – instead he possessed the female lead! Her Majesty’s Swarm (Joō-heika no Isekai Senryaku) has a girl ending up in a game as an evil queen, and unlike a lot of villainesses in these sorts of books, seems to embrace her evil. Also, spiders warning for this one.

Isekai Rebuilding Project (Isekai Saiken Keikaku) was touted by Sam as the first North American book with “isekai” untranslated in the title. It’s about a Japanese man who is called to “fix” worlds where the isekai’d hero has saved the world and gone home… but left too many cultural issues that can’t be put back inside Pandora’s box. Also, the hero has a friend who is a dragon. Seems to be a slow life title.

A new partner for J-Novel Cliub, Pash! Books, gives us the next few series. Teogonia was described as “what if a Ghibli movie was a light novel?”, and he notes this is pure Japanese fantasy about a booy who awaken old memories and discovers the real rules of the world. The World’s Least Interesting Master Swordsman (Jimi na Kensei wa Soredemo Saikyou desu) sounds like a cross between One-Punch Man and I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years, as a reincarnated boy practices his sword skills for 500 years and is the strongest around… but his techniques are boring!

We’re then told about a new label, J-Novel Heart, that will be publishing shoujo light novels! This has long been requested by fans. (By the way, My Next Life As a Villainess!, which is a shoujo LN in Japan, will switch to this new label in print.) The first book is called Tearmoon Empire, which features a spoiled brat of a noble who ends up getting killed because of her family. She ends up redoing her life, and (despite still being spoiled) tries her hardest to avoid getting killed again.

The Tales of Marielle Clarac (each book will be called “The _______ of Marielle Clarac”) isa romance and mystery book, as the rather plain noble girl tries to figure out why the super perfect man of her dreams wants to marry her – is there an ulterior motive? It’s a good book “for wallflowers”. The Bibliophile Princess (Mushikaburi-Hime) is another book with mystery, conspiracy and intrigue, and (as you might guess) has a book lover as the main character.

I Refuse to Be Your Enemy! (Watashi wa Teki ni Narimasen!) is another in those “my reawakened memories tell me I’m actually a villain who gets killed off” sort of books, only instead of trying to fix things with the various handsome young men this girl tries to flee from everything. That won’t go well. Fukushu wo Chikatta Shironeko wa Ryuuou no Hiza no Ue de Damin wo Musaboru, which has a tentative but unapproved English title of The White Cat’s Revenge as Plotted from the Dragon King’s Lap, has the best friend of the heroine abandoned in a forest, then turned into a cat. We follow the friend as she tries to get revenge on the “heroine” who abandoned her.

The final license was the biggest surprise: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Isekai, a doujinshi light novel collaboration between six light novel authors, including those behind Tanya the Evil and Re: Zero. It’s a short story anthology, essentially, that began when the authors asked themselves what they’d do if they were isekai’d. This is licensed directly from the authors – no company involved! It’s also pretty short, so should be available soon.

That was the final announcement, and I then headed out to get dinner and type all this up. Tomorrow we get one big panel, and that’s about it. Surprise me, Kodansha and Vertical!

By: Sean Gaffney

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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recentanimenews · 7 years ago

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Anime vs. Real Life: Tour the Real-Life World of Comic Girls!

In this week’s edition of Anime vs. Real Life, we’re taking a look at the appropriately-titled Comic Girls, an anime about four young female manga artists sharing a dorm. Each one of the girls specializes in a different genre of manga, but none of them are without their faults and quirks. The bubbly Koyume draws shojo manga, but simply can’t draw good-looking boys (while also lacking any experience in romance), the aspiring children’s book author Ruki made her breakthrough drawing erotic manga, and Tsubasa, who often gets carried away playing one of her own shonen manga characters. And, of course, there's the show’s protagonist Moeta (pen name: Kaos), who has, well, still a lot of of room to grow. Add some great humor to that, and throw in some surprisingly impressive visuals to the mix, and it’s easy to see why Comic Girls managed to take the top spot among viewers in Missouri, despite some heavy-hitting competition.

Every good cute-girls-doing-cute-things show needs some kind of angle nowadays, so we get some pretty neat insights into the manga industry from time to time, which even extends to some of the real-world locations shown in Comic Girls.

*All images were taken with Google Street View (Images I shot myself will be marked ‘WD’)

As an aspiring manga artist, Kaos often has to meet up with her editor, and they do so at the actual Houbunsha headquarters in Tokyo. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Houbunsha is also the publisher of the original Comic Girls four-panel manga, which started serialization in the publisher’s seinen magazine Manga Time Kirara Max back in 2014. The publisher is also responsible for other popular titles like Laid-Back Camp, NEW GAME!, and BLEND-S. Eromanga Sensei was another show that also included the real-world building of its manga's actual publisher, although in that case it was Kadokawa’s ASCII Media Works.

Tsubasa also gives some great shopping advice for manga artists. In the second episode, the gang hits up the Sekaido Store in Shinjuku, which is the go-to place for art supplies whether you’re already a pro or just an amateur. The main store in Shinjuku here has five whole floors only dedicated to art supplies, so you’ll find everything from Koyume’s masking tapes to the screen tones Ruki uses for her erotic panels.

Animate also carries some supplies for manga artists, but the selection is generally relatively limited.

But let’s go back a little, as Kaos actually only recently moved to the dorm in Tokyo. She’s originally from the countryside in Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture.

Since Kaos is extremely shy, she’s never really had any close friends, but for some reason is liked by animals quite a lot.

I was kind of hoping that the whole show would be set in Fukushima Prefecture, as we rarely get any anime set in the Tohoku region, but it definitely makes sense to move to Tokyo if you want to make it in the manga industry.

And so Kaos moves to a special dorm only for female manga artists somewhere in Tokyo’s Bunkyo ward.

Comic Girls' backgrounds are warm and vibrant, which is a good fit for a show like this, and on top of that they also match up with their real-world counterparts par for par.

Unfortunately, the Bunhousha Women's Dormitory does not actually exist.

The dormitory would’ve probably been located at the end of the street here, judging by the dorm's high stonewall in the anime picture, which is missing in real life.

This odd tree, just like all the other locations above, is located in the residential area near Kasuga Station.

The girls pass through the small Seiwa Park quite frequently on their way to school.

And speaking of school, they never explicitly mentioned where they go to school, but since this particular background made it into the anime twice, it’s probably safe to assume that they're attending Takehaya High School.

Suidobashi Station making an appearance in Comic Girls makes sense, since Kaos mentioned that the only line she wants to use is the Chuo-Sobu Line, which will get her directly to either Akihabara, Shinjuku, or Nakano.

Shinjuku.

If you ever want to find a shop that’s featured in an anime, you most likely just have to pay close attention to the credits, as you’ll often find the answer there. Kaos buys here glasses at the Megane Ichiba shop in Shinjuku.

The obligatory beach episode takes place on Sarushima (meaning Monkey Island), the only natural island in Tokyo Bay.

And, of course, no anime about manga would be complete without a trip to the holy land itself, Akihabara.

It’s Kaos’ first time in Akihabara, so she hits up the local Animate, probably picking up the latest volume of Comic Girls.

Who’s your favorite manga artist in Comic Girls? And why is it Koyume? Sound off in the comments below!

---

Wilhelm is an anime tourist, who loves to search for and uncover the real-world spots he sees in anime. You can talk with him on Twitter @Surwill.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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recentanimenews · 8 years ago

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Get Some Employee Orientation In Latest "Sakura Quest" TV Anime Preview

PA Works' team behind Hanasaku Iroha and SHIROBAKO is preparing for a new chapter of their "working" themed omnibus this spring with Sakura Quest, set to run starting April 5th on Tokyo MX. The latest preview introduces more employees of rural Manoyama's department of tourism.

youtube

(K)NoW_NAME (Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash) are on the themes. The group illudes

[Vocalists]

Ayaka Tachinbana, NIKIIE, AIJ

[Music Creators]

R.O.N, Makoto Miyazaki, Shuhei Mutsuki, Kohei by SIMONSAYZ, eNu, Genki Mizuno

[Illustrator]

so-bin (of Overlord fame)

Previews of the cover art for their Morning Glory and Freesia have also been published

The cast for Sakura Quest includes:

Ayaka Nanase as Yoshino Koharu, the protagonist of the show. Yoshino dislikes the countryside and yearns to live in the big city. She moved to Tokyo to try to accomplish "something special", but she failed at her job hunt and ended up finding employment as a tourism ambassador for the town of Manoyama. Serious-minded but friendly and affable, Yoshino is a normal young lady who has a bit of a complex about being so normal.

Reina Ueda as Shiori Shinomiya, a member of the Manoyama tourism association who works with Yoshino. Shiori loves small town living and is very traditional and family-oriented. She has a positive personality and is very skilled at domestic work.

Chika Anzai as Maki Midorikawa, a resident of Manoyama who returned to her hometown after her dream of becoming an actress in Tokyo fell through. Although Maki belonged to a small theater company, she had to take numerous part time jobs to make ends meet. Maki has a cool, "elder sister"-ly personality.

Chiemi Tanaka as Ririko Oribe, a young lady who doesn't like living in Manoyama, but can't muster up the courage to move elsewhere. Although Ririko successfully graduated from high school, she has been unable to find a job and so she spends most of her time staying at home and surfing the Internet. Ririko has trouble communicating with other people, and her only friend is Shiori Shinomiya, whom she has known since childhood.

And Mikako Komatsu as Sanae Kouzuki, a woman who was born and raised in Tokyo, but who moved to Manoyama about half a year before Yoshino arrived. Sanae is very insecure about how other people perceive her. Sanae graduated from college and went to work for an IT company, but she couldn't stand the lifestyle, and so she fled to the countryside where she rents a home and does web-design work.

Ushimatsu Kadota: Voiced by Atsushi Ono (Nady Yukinojo Kassapa, Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans)

The first king of Chupacabra Kingdom and the head of Manoyama's tourism bureau, who accidentally calls the heroines to Manoyama. He pressures Yoshino and the other "monarchs" with ridiculous demands for the sake of restoring Chupacabra Kingdom.

Chitose Oriba: Maki Izawa (Milde Irlam, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-)

Ririko's grandmother, who runs a candy shop and is president of Manoyama's business association. She dislikes the tourism bureau, and undermines Ushimatsu at every opportunity.

Takamizawa: Katsuyuki Konishi (Luxus Dreher, Fairy Tail)

The burnt-out bus driver on the Manoyama route. He's often seen eating at Angelica's restaurant.

Yamada: Hiro Shimono (Jean Otus, ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.)

A staff member at Manoyama's tourism bureau, who helps look after the protagonist and hold Ushimatsu at bay when he gets too demanding.

Mino: Daiki Hamano (Dante Mogro, Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans)

Another staffer at the tourism bureau who, like Yamada, helps keep Ushimatsu from terrorizing the new monarchs.

Mr. Sandal: Vinay Murthy (Merak, Azure Striker Gunvolt English dub)

A mysterious foreign musician who wanders into Manoyama.

Angelica: Nanako Mori (Cure Chocolat, Kira Kira PreCure a la Mode)

A restaurant owner who also tells fortunes.

Erika Suzuki: Tomoyo Kurosawa (Kumiko, Sound! Euphonium)

Angelica's daughter, in her second year in middle school. She helps out in her mother's restaurant and seems to dislike the country.

The series will also be promoted at next weekend's AnimeJapan event...

【AJ抽選会賞品】こちらは3/25(土)～26(日)TOHO Animation（ブース番号：J82）サクラクエストコーナー「間野山観光協会大抽選会」の賞品のお面です！抽選会、是非参加してくださいね！ https://t.co/sIWtx4Oozf #サクラクエスト http://pic.twitter.com/T9Msq0pYlM

— TVアニメ「サクラクエスト」公式 (@manoyama_PR) March 15, 2017

------ Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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recentanimenews · 8 years ago

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Kodansha Comics Launches New Shoujo And Josei Manga

This week Kodansha Comics has launched English, digital releases of three new shoujo and josei manga, including Taamo's 2010 13-volume House of the Sun (aka Taiyou no Ie), Mari Yoshino's 2007 13-volume Peach Heaven! (aka Momoiro Heaven!) Tsunami Umino's 2012 8-volume ongoing The Full-Time Wife Escapist (aka Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu). The first two are from from Dessert magazine and the third is from Kiss.

House of the Sun Vol. 1

by Taamo

http://ift.tt/2m5mAdc

As a child, Mao spent all her time at Hiro’s house across the street. Going to his house always made her feel cheerful. A few years later… Mao’s father gets remarried and Mao finds herself with nowhere to call home. Hiro ends up letting her stay with him in the house he is protecting all by himself since the death of his parents. However…! A love story unfolds between the two childhood friends of different ages!

Peach Heaven! Vol. 1

by Mari Yoshino

http://ift.tt/2mCKPxl

At first glance, Momoko Shina may appear to be nothing more than your average high school girl, but she has a secret identity as the famous erotica author George Aihara. After she witnesses an intimate moment between one of her teachers and the supermodel Ranmaru, she borrows a little too much from reality in an effort to beat the deadline on her latest story. When Ranmaru gets wind of this, he makes Momoko an offer she can't refuse... Watch the sparks fly as these two try to figure each other out in this high-tension romantic comedy!

The Full-Time Wife Escapist

by Tsunami Umino

http://ift.tt/2m5w1tn

What’s a girl to do when there are no jobs? Once Mikuri Moriyama got out of grad school, all she could find was a temp job, and they just laid her off! Worried about his daughter, her dad helps her get a job doing housekeeping for this guy he used to work with named Tsuzaki. Just when things are starting to go well, though, Mikuri’s parents decide it’s time to move out to the countryside. She’ll likely be unemployed for the rest of her life if she goes with them, but she doesn’t make enough money to rent her own place. That’s when Mikuri, always the daydreamer, comes up with a solution out of left field…

------- Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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recentanimenews · 8 years ago

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Anime Prepares To Go Back To Work In "Sakura Quest" Preview

PA Works' team behind Hanasaku Iroha and SHIROBAKO is preparing for a new chapters of their "working" themed omnibus this spring with Sakura Quest. With the series now scheduled to debut on April 5th on Tokyo MX, a new preview has offered the latest look.

youtube

【最新PV】最新PV公開！由乃たち5人や、間野山の町の人々が登場する、普通じゃない観光地の普通じゃないお仕事風景をご覧ください！ https://t.co/UqBvBygpH1 #サクラクエスト http://pic.twitter.com/wes9FqAu1P

— TVアニメ「サクラクエスト」公式 (@manoyama_PR) February 15, 2017

Earlier teaser

youtube

Sakura Quest includes:

Original work: Alexandre S. D. Celibidache

Director: Sôichi Masui (BROTHERHOOD FINAL FANTASY XV)

Series composition: Masahiro Yokotani (Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-)

Original character designs: BUNBUN (YUKI YUNA IS A HERO)

Character design: Kanami Sekiguchi (SHIROBAKO)

Theme: (K)NoW_NAME (Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash) are on the theme for this next entry in PA Works' working omnibus (previously including Hanasaku Iroha and Shirobako)

[Vocalists]

Ayaka Tachinbana, NIKIIE, AIJ

[Music Creators]

R.O.N, Makoto Miyazaki, Shuhei Mutsuki, Kohei by SIMONSAYZ, eNu, Genki Mizuno

[Illustrator]

so-bin

こんにちは、（K)NoW_NAMEです！イラストレーターso-bin描き下ろし新ビジュアルイラストを公開しました。『サクラクエスト』、とっても楽しみです。よろしくお願いします！#サクラクエスト　＃(K)_N http://pic.twitter.com/1e5cqY0yRQ

— (K)NoW_NAME（ノウネイム） (@_K_NoW_NAME) February 10, 2017

The cast for Sakura Quest includes:

Ushimatsu Kadota: Voiced by Atsushi Ono (Nady Yukinojo Kassapa, Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans)

Chitose Oriba: Maki Izawa (Milde Irlam, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-)

Ririko's grandmother, who runs a candy shop and is president of Manoyama's business association. She dislikes the tourism bureau, and undermines Ushimatsu at every opportunity.

Takamizawa: Katsuyuki Konishi (Luxus Dreher, Fairy Tail)

The burnt-out bus driver on the Manoyama route. He's often seen eating at Angelica's restaurant.

Yamada: Hiro Shimono (Jean Otus, ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept.)

A staff member at Manoyama's tourism bureau, who helps look after the protagonist and hold Ushimatsu at bay when he gets too demanding.

Mino: Daiki Hamano (Dante Mogro, Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans)

Another staffer at the tourism bureau who, like Yamada, helps keep Ushimatsu from terrorizing the new monarchs.

Mr. Sandal: Vinay Murthy (Merak, Azure Striker Gunvolt English dub)

A mysterious foreign musician who wanders into Manoyama.

Angelica: Nanako Mori (Cure Chocolat, Kira Kira PreCure a la Mode)

A restaurant owner who also tells fortunes.

Erika Suzuki: Tomoyo Kurosawa (Kumiko, Sound! Euphonium)

Angelica's daughter, in her second year in middle school. She helps out in her mother's restaurant and seems to dislike the country.

And, earlier in the week...

【HAPPY Valentine!!】こんばんは、職員です。今日も一日お疲れ様です。本日2月14日はバレンタインデー！ということで、一日の疲れを癒してくれるべく観光協会の5人が手作りチョコレートを皆さまにお届け(^^)/ まずは早苗から♡ #サクラクエスト http://pic.twitter.com/Xj2KYL7nGD