The last chapter of Raqiya ended on a huge cliffhanger with Luna getting shot. However, the biggest shock still lies ahead of us as we come closer to learn Aspirin Snow’s true identity. With her friends still miles away and Taoka’s killers closing in, this mysterious man is now the only thing that stands between Luna and certain death. But why is Snow so interested in Luna and what other secrets is he harboring? Everything is building up for the second volume’s explosive finale that will alter all those characters’ lives forever.

Thanks again to Weaper for the cleaning help.

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Today brings the conclusion of our instant favorite project, Udon no Hito. And what a wonderful ending it is. Sweet, but not cheesy. Understated, but still emotionally satisfying. I particularly love the way the artist used udon as a metaphor for sexual desire. Kind of reminds me of my favorite Japanese movie Tampopo, whose director actually got mentioned in the last chapter. It’s a shame this manga is so short. This is one of the stories where I wouldn’t mind if it went on forever, especially thanks to those hilarious “she thinks/he thinks” scenes. Once again, a big thank to Aster for translating this manga. I hope you all enjoyed it.

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It’s almost summer, which means my traveling calender is starting to fill up again. Hopefully we as a group will manage to be more active this time compared to last year, but you know how it goes. Today’s big announcement is the launch of two brand-new projects: Green Blood and Udon no Hito. In familiar Kotonoha tradition, they are as different as two manga can be.

Green Blood is the latest work by Masasumi Kakizaki, the artist behind Hideout and Rainbow. Set in mid-19th century New York, this grim and action-filled period drama explores the violent gang culture in the notorious Five Points district through the eyes of two Irish immigrant brothers. If you enjoyed Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, like I did, this manga will be right up your alley. Kakizaki’s gritty artwork seems uniquely suited to portrait the cruel and unforgiving life during some of the darkest days in this era. His story, while not on the same scale as Scorsese’s movie, is fast-paced and engaging. If you can handle explicit scenes of graphic violence and nudity, Green Blood offers a fresh and captivating experience rarely found in manga these days. This project is a joint with Easy Going Scans, who are scanlating Kakizaki’s other famous manga, Rainbow.

Since the conclusion of Happy-Go-Lucky Days our ongoing josei section has been conspicuously vacant, which is all the more reason I’m glad we’re picking up Udon no Hito, one of the most talked-about josei books of 2011. In her second josei outing, up-and-coming artist est em gives us a witty, charming, and occasionally hilarious story about love and noodles. Although I do wonder at times which of them is the bigger focus of the manga. A big thanks to Aster for translating this wonderful manga for us.

We are of course not ignoring our other projects, as is evident by the new chapters of All-Rounder Meguru and Raqiya. Thanks to Weaper for helping us out with the latter again. Hopefully, these two projects will proceed smoother from now on.

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It’s another Emanon-rific Sunday here at Kotonoha as we are releasing all 8 chapters of Wandering Emanon, thus bringing this project to a close. While these all-color chapters are certainly very nice to look at, I personally consider them more an extended bonus than something relevant to the main story. Chronologically they are set after Wandering Emanon ’67 and you will find the events of ’67 referenced here. This is the main reason why we decided to scanlate them in the order we did. Both parts are included in the volume batch on the project page. This is currently all there is of Wandering Emanon. The second volume won’t be out for at least another 1-2 years. It’ll be interesting to see if Tsuruta decides to continue the story of Emanon’s brother or if he goes back and adapts another short story of the second novel. Either option would be great.

Just a little side note, in case you are wondering about the character Hikari. She is a time traveler. She first appears in the short story “Ashibiki Daydream” contained in Omoide Emanon (the first novel). She and Emanon first met 1.2 billion years ago. Ever since they have been trying to reconnect with each other on many occasions.

What? There are other releases? Why, yes! We also have new chapters of Raqiya, Ran to Haiiro no Sekai, and Wolfsmund. I’d like to thank our old friend zindryr for stepping in and translating Wolfsmund for us. Maybe now we can finally catch up with the Japanese release.

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Tonight we have for you the conclusion of Wandering Emanon ’67, at least for now, since the ending suggests that there is more to come. Comic Ryu still lists Wandering Emanon in their latest line-up, so that’s a good sign. However, knowing Tsuruta, it might take another 3-4 years until he comes out with the next book. Regarding the current plot development, I have to say I’m a little torn about the author’s decision to introduce a potential villain. Somehow it doesn’t fit with the story’s style. On the other hand, this might finally give Emanon something else to do than just wandering around and telling strangers her life story. Just saying.

Fun fact: the story about Emanon’s brother is not actually from the second novel, but the third one, Karisome Emanon (Transient Emanon). I guess that means Tsuruta likes to shuffle things around. If you want to see material from the second novel, you’ll have to wait for Wandering Emanon, which we will scanlate next.

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