No, we don’t have a release for you today (though that might change soon). I just thought some of you might be interested to know that a rough start date for the Chokotto Sister anime was announced a few days ago: it’s July. The official website has also revealed the anime’s main cast. Except for the role of Tamami-sempai it’s completely different from the Dorama CD’s (released in July 2004), which is not necessarily a surprise. This kind of change does happen all the time. Anyway, below is the list of the voice actors/actresses (check out the website for their photos!)

・ Choko: Momoko SAITÔ (CD: Ai NONAKA)
・ Haruma Kawagoe: Daisuke HIRAKAWA
(CD: Daisuke SAKAGUCHI)
・ Chitose Serikawa: Kaori MIZUHASHI
(CD: Fumiko ORIKASA)
・ Makoto Ashirai: Rika MORINAGA
(CD: Megumi TOYOGUCHI)
・ Ayano Sonozaki: Sayaka ÔHARA
・ Kakeru Ishida: Yumiko KOBAYASHI
(CD: Tomo SAEKI) [Interesting: Both times he is spoken by a woman. ^^]
・ Tamami Marumo: Yuki MATSUOKA (CD: same)

Meanwhile, Go Zappa has announced a Chokotto Sister novel (written by himself of course), to be released in June. That’s also the month the sixth volume of the manga goes on sale. Looks like we have to hurry up if we want to catch up with the series by then… On second thought, naaaah… ^^

As you can see, we have started a new poll today. While the question itself is not exactly the most original one, I figured it’s a logical follow-up to the first poll. Also note that you can see the result of all past polls in the newly added poll archives.

I know, I know. I could have released this chapter yesterday with the other one, but that wouldn’t be fun, right? Anyway, here’s the last chapter of Girlfriend volume 2. It has one of my favorite scenes in the entire volume (see below). I wish I could start working on the 3rd volume immediately, but alas, I only ordered the hard copy two days ago (together with the 2nd volume of The Hour of the Mice ). So it will be at least two weeks until I can get my hands on it. Please bear with us a little while longer.

Also, since I thought it’d be interesting, I added a poll feature to the side bar. The first question is Girlfriend-related, but expect more group-relevant topics in the future. Depending on the poll’s significance, it will be up for one or two weeks. Keep in mind that when you vote, you receive a cookie with what poll you voted in and what your vote was. This is just a simple method to ensure that the same person can’t vote twice.

P.S. Looks like we have two new chapters of Chokotto Sister up for grab as well.

Those of you who have been following Girlfriend might already have noticed that the relationships depicted in this series aren’t exactly your typical high school romance. I’m not only referring to the central role sexual intercourse seems to play within all the stories, but also the ambivalent nature of the girls’ feelings towards their (boy)friends. Both aspects are apparent from the first story and they constitute a recurring theme in the rest of the series.

Basically, what we encounter here is the clash of two kinds of “love.” While the boys’ affection seems honest and pure, the same thing can’t be said about the girls. Each of them has a different reason to be with the boy in question, yet none of them “loves” the same way she is loved. The girls’ motivations are often complex and nuanced (they have to be, otherwise we’d only be dealing with a bunch of simple sex stories ). They are also the reason why this series is called what it is called.

Masaya Hokazono, the Japanese author, didn’t just choose ガールフレンド (“Girlfriend” in Katakana) because he wanted a hip and trendy title, but also to signify the unusual nature of those relationships. This detail becomes especially obvious when he uses the word ガールフレンド in contrast to 彼女 (“kanojo” – the “traditional” Japanese word for “girlfriend”) and 愛人 (“aijin” – “lover” or “mistress”). A ガールフレンド might kiss you and sleep with you, but her heart doesn’t belong to you, at least not alone. You can neither reach her completely nor make her yours. These thoughts sort of correspond with a quote from Takahisa: “Girls… way more than I thought / might be… creatures of freedom.” (Chapter 6)

As you might guess, it was a bit tricky to come up with an appropriate translation for the word ガールフレンド itself. “Sex friend” goes a bit too far (though I did use it once in the third chapter) and “girl friend” (as printed on the Japanese cover) doesn’t go far enough. In the end, I decided to simply put “girlfriend” into quotation marks, which I hope will make clear to all readers that the word has a slightly different meaning.

To conclude this way too long rant on my part, we release a new chapter of “Girlfriend.”

Today’s releases are dedicated to the most fascinating creatures there are. But boys can read them too.

• Girlfriend Vol 2 Ch 6~8
  Yes, you read correctly. That’s not one, not two, but three new chapters of our arguably most popular project (after just one volume, it already surpassed Chokotto Sister!*). How did we manage to do that? One word: boke. No, I’m not talking manzai here. Boke is the person you should thank for your Girlfriend fix. Like manna from heaven, he appeared from nowhere, offered to translate this series for us, and finished half of the second volume before you could say “Nandeyanen?!!”

    And so we bring you three more exciting stories about boys and girls and the complicated, yet irresistible force that draws them together. Chapter 6 is the long-awaited continuation of the first story in volume 1. Chapter 7 and 8 introduce two new couples whose story will be continued in the third volume. Expect another update pretty soon, in which I promise to explain the deeper meaning behind the manga’s title.

    * Don’t believe me? Check out this cool flash clip made by a Girlfriend fan (Thanks again!). If only we had more dedicated readers like him.

• Sweet Blue Flowers Vol 1 Ch 3-4 & 5-6 & 7
  Does this series live up to its title or what? Rarely has yuri been sweeter and more tender than this.
• Hanashippanashi Vol 1 Ch 8-11
  Here are four new invitations to dream. Will you join us? And remember, Hanashippanashi’s magic will only work if you free your mind and stop wondering about the how’s or why’s. Just let the stories guide you. Who knows, maybe you’ll even see the world around you in a slightly different way afterwards.

Whenever I wake up in the morning and don’t find myself repelled by the thought of leaving the house and dragging myself to work, I know spring has begun. Commonly perceived as a time of rebirth and renewal, spring means green grass, budding flowers, T-shirts and jeans, and lots of runny noses. Here at Kotonoha, it means the beginning of a new romance: Sweet Blue Flowers (Japanese title: Aoi hana) is our second joint with the wonderful people from Lililicious, and as coincidence has it, the charming and light-hearted (love) story just seems like the ideal lecture for this time of the year.

I was going to write up a neat introduction to this manga, but Erica Friedman from Okazu already beat me to it. As she pointed out, Sweet Blue Flowers is a nice little series that is likely to appeal to people who appreciate subtle, deliberately paced character dramas. I know what the majority of you think after reading the summary, but before you dismiss this title as “chick stuff,” you should know that it’s running in no other publication than Manga Erotics F, the same magazine that brought us Uncivilized Planet and Keep on Vibrating. Obviously, the line-up is meant to target readers of both sexes.

Mind you, reading Sweet Blue Flowers is a completely different experience from those aforementioned series. That isn’t to say that the story is not captivating or exciting. It is, just in a different way. SBF’s strength is clearly its characters—a wonderfully rounded cast of girls whose interpersonal dynamics make each chapter a pleasing read despite its “slow” tempo. Actually, I think it’s the plot’s unforced pace that allows the story to come across as natural and realistic. Everything in SBF is well-balanced. The story is sweet, but never cloying. It’s easy to read, yet never trivial or monochrome. Typical of a work by Takako Shimura, all main characters are portrayed in an extremely positive and sympathetic way (it’s my personal belief that Shimura is unable of creating an unlikable character ). However, they still retain enough realism (e.g. their vulnerability) for us to genuinely care about them—the best proof that we’re dealing with a good story.