Next up: More Garden, Soil, SWWEEET, Ressentiment (not necessarily in that order) and our first big new project of 2010. Be excited!

As for long-term strategy, the biggest challenge for me in the upcoming months will be transforming Kotonoha’s line-up to make it even more diverse, while placing more emphasis on the “less ordinary” part. Expect a surge in titles by talented but little known artists whose works have never been translated into English before (legally or otherwise). Hirosuke Kizaki was the first of the pack and we have some more amazing artists lined up that will give Kaneko, Asano, Furuya, Kitoh and Tōme a good run for their money.

With that out of the way, let’s get down to business, by which I mean, releases. In addition to the familiar faces, we have a newcomer today: Garden by Usamaru Furuya. It’s a collection of his “indie” shorts that were published in Comic Cue, Manga Erotics and GARO respectively. The title is obviously a reference to Hieronymus Bosch’s famous triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights, with the first story being a homage to said painting. The other stories range from absurd comedies to fantasy to horror. It’s a very eclectic mixture, but make no mistake: artistically, Garden might just be Furuya’s most accomplished work after The Music of Marie. There are simply no words to describe stories like “The Book of the Moon” and “Emi,” the former having been hailed as “one of the best comics of any kind I’ve ever read” by Adam Stephanides. Sadly, it’s also a reminder that Furuya will never be able to draw something like this again. Those of you who think Furuya has become tame in his recent projects and who yearn for the days when the guy still had some genuine “indie cred” will find Garden a treasure trove of comic gems.

Finally, since there’s no easy way to announce this, I’m going to give it to you straight: we are dropping Chokotto Sister and Hourou Musuko, for the same reason we dropped Historie. Both projects were picked up by other groups while we were on hiatus and they have been continued to the point where it no longer makes sense for us to bother with either of them again.

P.S. Yes, I know the website still needs some fixing.

We are releasing the first half of this manga today and the other half next week before Kotonoha goes on vacation. I’d like to thank Meriken for his terrific translation. This project wouldn’t have been possible without him.

I was hoping to finish the first volume of All-Rounder Meguru before Christmas and with the help of the ever reliable Megchan we did. Today’s double releases conclude the first volume. I admit that one of the reasons why I decided to pick up this manga was to see if we could handle a more mainstream project with a broader appeal than the “usual” Kotonoha fare. However, it has grown on me a lot and judging from the 2nd volume it’s only going to get better.

Unfortunately, our decision to fast-track Meguru came with a price, namely the completion of The Music of Marie. But not to worry, the latter is still on track for being finished in the foreseeable future. To make up for the delay, we will pick up another manga by Usamaru Furuya when we return in mid-January.

Until then, an early Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you and yours!

Summary

Based on the award-winning novel by Shinji Kajio, Memories of Emanon tells the story of a mysterious girl who holds a 3-billion-year old memory, dating back to the moment life first appeared on Earth.

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Scanlation	Torrent	HTTP
Volume 1 (End)

• All-Rounder Meguru V1 Ch6
  After giving us a peek into Meguru’s personal life and his motivation (or lack thereof) for taking up shooto, Endo is getting back to the meat of the story this time, laying the foundation for the upcoming two-parter focusing on Takashi and his motivation. As to be expected, it’s a quite a contrast to Meguru’s.
• Soil V5 Ch36
  Kaneko continues to weave his web of mystery. In this chapter we get a few more glimpses into the character of Kosaka, the school counselor. From all the characters in Soil she seems to have the strongest link to the mystery. Could she be the only person who knows what’s going on in this town gone mad?
• The Music of Marie V2 Ch10
  Another exceptional chapter of an amazing story that poses some thought-provoking questions about religion, determinism and the human desire for knowledge.
• The Hour of the Mice V3 Ch28-29
  Final volume, here we come.

Compared to Soil, All-Rounder Meguru must look like the most mundane thing in the world, especially since the new chapter shifts the focus from Meguru the fighter to Meguru the teenager. But don’t worry, he’ll be back in fighting mode soon enough.

The Hour of the Mice is nearing the end of the 3rd volume which means Maki and Kiriko’s happy days will soon be over. How far will Mei go to get Maki back, and will Nagi have to pay the ultimate price? Oh the drama, it tugs the heart strings…

One thing that makes Meguru stand out from the crowd is its realism. Everything in here is firmly rooted in the realm of the possible. There are no secret techniques, no power-ups, no fighting prodigies. The main character is just your average teenager who tries to do the best with what he has learned. By keeping the story lean and without gimmicks, Endo has a lot more freedom to focus on the characters and their relationships, even though he does often indulge in the sport aspect as can be seen in chapter 4. I guess Meguru’s biggest selling point lies in its combination of the slice-of-life episodes and the short but intense fights that once again demonstrate Endo’s ability to draw dynamic action scenes that actually look real. We can only hope the author has some sort of a plot with a middle and an ending in mind instead of just giving us one fight after another.

Speaking of ending, today we release the “final” chapter of Shoujo Nemu. I really wish we had more of this wonderful story to scanlate. Alas, Hirosuke Kizaki, the artist, passed away before he could complete the manga. It’s a big shame because I think his premature depart rid Japan of one of the most talented young artists of this generation. Even though Shoujo Nemu didn’t get a proper ending, following Nemu’s journey as she grows up from being a shy and insecure girl to a young woman determined to follow her dream has been an extraordinary experience. One that I’m very glad to have had.