Ladies and gentlemen, at the beginning of the year I promised you fun, and here is where the fun begins. Raqiya has been on our potential project list for years, but I never made it a priority because to be perfectly honest, this is not the kind of manga that Kotonoha would usually pick up. I like Boichi, the artist, but it’s obvious that his works mostly aim at a quite different audience. So far, Hotel and Present remain exceptions that prove the rule. Fortunately, the editors at Morning must have had the same thought and decided to pair him up with a veteran writer for this manga. Masao Yajima (Human Crossing) is a prolific author and screenwriter best known for his human drama stories. It’s an odd combination, to be sure, but somehow it works.

So, how best to describe Raqiya? Imagine if Micheal Bay and Dan Brown got together and decided to create a TV series. The result would probably look like Raqiya–a slick, fast-paced mystery thriller chock-full of spectacular action set pieces, bad-ass characters, goofy comedy, religious conspiracies, and a female lead who looks like she was traced right off the cover of Maxim. Not having to worry about the writing aspect let Boichi focus on what he does best: creating amazing artwork with a jaw-dropping level of details and depth. The story, filled with Judeo-Christian symbols and themes from Judaism, Christianity and most importantly Gnosticism, will doubtless split readers, but it’s moving at such a fast clip that you won’t have time to care. This isn’t a cozy ride around the block in your MINI Convertible, it’s a 50-ton truck barreling down the road. You either get on board or you get crushed. So put away your hipster hats, sit tight, and enjoy the ride.

On a technical note, Raqiya is Kotonoha’s first project to be released in 1920p. You might remember that we switched to 1280p about three years ago with Before Dawn and the End of the World. Our blog statistics indicate that about 20% of our visitors now have a screen resolution of 1920*xxxx, which makes them the second largest group after those with 1280*xxxx. I suspect that this number will only go up, so consider this an investment in the future. If you don’t want to download the huge file, an online version is available at Batoto (at least when they approve my upload). We will probably release a 1280p-version as well, but only as volume batches.

41 people like this post.

I Like This

Unlike

The new year is starting out predictably slow. Good news is, we managed to finish up Hideout rather quickly, so hopefully that bodes well for the rest of 2012.

When I first read this manga I totally expected it to have a Shutter Island-type ending because it would fit the whole madness theme so well. While the actual ending is not half bad, I feel like it could have benefited from more ambiguity, especially because that would make the cave itself a much more powerful metaphor, doubling both as Seiichi’s own Purgatory and Plato’s Cave allegory.

But even without those extra levels, Hideout is a well-crafted piece of fiction that knows its purpose and pulls out all the stops to fulfill it. There is enough atmosphere and tension packed into this single volume to make it an engrossing and powerful story about a man’s fall from grace and his ultimate descent into hell. The climax might seem predictable after you read it, but it still grabs you and leaves enough imagery burnt onto your mind that will last for some time after the last page is turned.

45 people like this post.

I Like This

Unlike

It’s kind of fitting that our fist release in 2012 should be from Hideout. Seeing how the scanlation scene is going to hell in a handbasket, and us with it, I can certainly sympathize with the main character’s psychotic behavior. Just replace the monster in this chapter with Mangafox and their ilk and you’ve got the picture. My prediction for 2012: either they are going down or we are. But if we’re going down we’re gonna have ourselves some fun. And that’s about the only promise I can give you for this year. Cheers!

P.S. Yes, I am drunk!

41 people like this post.

I Like This

Unlike

Well, I didn’t think we’d manage to squeeze in another release before the year ends, but here we are. A belated Merry Christmas to those who care. You probably expected a bigger present haul, in which case you don’t know us very well. Still, we don’t want to look like a cheapskate Grinch here, so gather round for some nice releases. In the little stocking, we have three new chapters of All-Rounder Meguru, in which Meguru is struggling to fend off his opponent’s overpowering attacks, that is, until he learns to love the Muay Thai clinch.

Seeing two guys beating each other up might not sound very festive, but believe me when I say it’s still a whole lot jollier than our other release tonight. Which brings us to, Hideout. First off, I’m aware that someone else has started scanlating this manga recently. However, since we already had the book translated and prepped at the time, it would have been an extraordinary waste for us to just back out. As much as I dislike replicating other people’s efforts, this is one of the rare exceptions where we have no choice but to see a project through no matter what.

With that out of the way, let’s talk a bit about the manga itself. Hideout is the first work by Masasumi Kakizaki after he finished his award-winning series Rainbow. While the latter made Kakizaki famous as an artist, it also had the unfortunate effect of sidelining his ambition as an author. Something he is eager to catch up on with Hideout, a classic psychological horror story that’s reminiscent of the ealier works by Stephen King. Kakizaki himself admits in the manga’s afterword that he is a big fan of the master of horror, and I wouldn’t be surprised if King’s The Shining served as one of his main sources of inspiration.

Ironically, when this manga was first published in Japan, readers criticized it for being too much like a Western horror story. In a genre that has been stuck in the past for decades, Hideout is a far cry from the campy, over-the-top jaw-droppers from Umezu and Itoh. The story of a man whose life spirals out of control after the death of his only son, climaxing in his decision to kill his wife, is compelling from beginning to end. The dark and haunting atmosphere Kakizaki manages to build with his outstanding and immersive artwork is breathtaking. In short, Hideout is a complete package that I can recommend to anyone looking for a thrilling read.

28 people like this post.

I Like This

Unlike

Yikes! And here I was hoping we would gather some momentum after the time-out, but since I can’t seem to catch a break at work, things will continue to be sluggish for a while. Then again, Kotonoha being fast would be like Porsche being cheap. I’m pretty sure it would wreck our brand. Nevertheless, I vow to update the site more often. As always, there’s a lot of work to be done, and we do have two more great 1-volume projects waiting in the wings, so let’s not waste any time getting down to the post’s nitty-gritty:

• Snow Blind (1-shot)

  

  Surprise! This has to be our first one-shot release in like two years. To think that we used to crank them out like popcorn. Those were good times, my friends. In any case, with the help of our guest translator Utagaibukai, I hope to revive this tradition at least a few more times. Meanwhile, check out this hilarious, Tarantino-esque story about a boy who makes a rather memorable encounter on his way to cram school.

• All-Rounder Meguru V6 Ch48-49

  

  It’s the beginning of a new volume, and this one will finally wrap up the Kanto tournament. I still can’t believe the whole thing is supposed to only last one day. Felt like months to me. At least Endō managed to give us some good fights, so it’s all good.

• Gunjo V1 Ch9

  

  One more chapter until the first volume is done. Do I finally sense some sort of rapprochement between the two protagonists?

• Happy-Go-Lucky Days V2 Ch15 (End)
  Yep, that’s the last of it. I’m missing Takako Shimura already. It seems to me like we have always been working on something from her. Now that it’s no longer the case, it feels like something is missing from our line-up.
• Ran to Haiiro no Sekai V2 Ch7

  

  While the first volume of this magical comedy is a nice introduction, the second volume is where the story really starts to spread its wings. Expect more interesting characters, more magic, more transformation hijinks, and a lot more action. Unfortunately, our joint partner for this project shut down recently, so we’re now forced to carry on alone. The good news is, Kalendel has agreed to stay on as translator, so hopefully Ran and her family will stick around a while longer.

• Soil V7 Ch51
  I know it sucks that this series is being released so slowly. At least you can console yourself with the idea that the next chapter will most likely confuse you even more than you already are. Therefore, we consider it our responsibility to make sure you have enough time to process all the mind-blowing developments before plunging you deeper into the madness. You’re welcome!

32 people like this post.

I Like This

Unlike

As we are arriving at the end of the first volume of A Girl by the Sea, things are getting hard and heavy. We’ve always sensed that something is wrong with Isobe, but it’s not until chapter 9 that we get to witness with our own eyes what a disturbed young man he really is. I continue to be impressed by Asano’s restrained story telling. Maybe it has to do with the lack of his narrative voice, or maybe it’s because he decided to root everything firmly in reality. Either way, this manga already feels quite different from the author’s other works and I can only hope the second volume will build on this strength.

Other releases:

• All-Rounder Meguru V5 Ch47 (End of volume 5)

37 people like this post.

I Like This

Unlike

And with that, we are back with some long overdue releases. To be honest, most of those got done weeks ago, but since I was practically never home during summer, they were sort of just sitting there. In any case, today we are releasing the first batch. More will follow during the week. Enjoy!

• A Girl by the Sea V1 Ch4-7
• All-Rounder Meguru V5 Ch42-46
• Happy-Go-Lucky Days V2 Ch13-14

Updated with the second batch:

• Gunjo v1 ch8
• Sadness of the Heart v1 ch8-12 (End)
• Soil v7 ch49-50
• Wolfsmund v1 ch2

73 people like this post.

I Like This

Unlike