30 August 2012

Dino Love

Rawr! What're we gonna do on the bed!?
Finally a manga that satisfies section #3 of my criteria for what-to-translate! I wasn't planning nor even aware of this non-H (sadly) doujin about Female Dinos in a high school setting, but when I saw it this afternoon on the internet, I knew I had to translate it then and there. So here it is, The Young Maiden in Love is a Carnivore, by Hikojibeya! Not much else to say since the premise and art speaks for itself, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

P.S. Oh, the last few pages are stuff by the author explaining some more details (phones, chips, morals) about his fictional universe. It's actually pretty interesting but I was too lazy to translate it. Forgive me for that.

Download:
The Young Maiden in Love is a Carnivore:   Minus;   Sendspace (Reuploaded since I had two page 13s)

22 August 2012

Gyanki-Hen v05 (last updated Sept. 2)

Hope the wait for the new volume wasn't too long. You guys are in for a real... odd volume. Thought golfing was weird? You haven't seen nothing yet. I'm not even sure where Fukumoto is going with the arc in this volume's 2nd half but I'm hoping he'll blow my mind by doing something even more unexpected for volume 6. Either that or he's been reading too much Detective Conan. I'll shut up now lest I mention spoilers.
This is nothing like what my idolm@ster had me believe...
Gambling Bartender Zero.
Never has pouring a glass been more Zawa Zawa.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
No, his line on p121 isn't just me messing around.

Download:
Gyanki-Hen c35:   Mediafire
Gyanki-Hen c36:   Mediafire
Gyanki-Hen c37:   Mediafire
Gyanki-Hen c38:   Mediafire
Gyanki-Hen c39:   Mediafire
Gyanki-Hen c40:   Mediafire

20 August 2012

HALF-WAY DONE!

Chapter 184 is is now out meaning... WE'RE HALFWAY DONE! WOOHOO! (ノ゚▽゚)ノ 

Although at the same time, that means there's still 30 volumes to go, I would like to take this time to pat myself on the back for at least coming this far by myself. Looking back, it's been sort of a bumpy ride, as there were some terms I stupidly mistranslated earlier on (ex. nation when I meant empire, or having a non-narration dialogue say China instead of Han or All Under Heaven), as well as the belated transition from jpg to png. Many thanks to people who pointed out numerous typos and mix-ups of names (Yuan Shao/Yuan Shu) I've made over the years. There is, however, one mistake that I'm not responsible for that I can now explain having translated v30. The mistake I'm talking about is from all the way back from the first volume, page 68.
The error comes not from whether or not the yellow turban rebels being funded by external nomadic tribes is plausible, but the fact that the strict definition of "Mongols" refer to an ethnic tribe that didn't exist until much later. For the few sticklers that were annoyed by this, Yokoyama is not using the term in a strict sense. By Mongols, he's (inaccurately/loosely) grouping together a whole bunch of ethnic tribes that lived in Northern China and Mongolia at one point. For the same reason, on page 170 of v30, the original Japanese text refers to the Qiang people as "Mongols." I, however, changed it back to Qiang so some of you will be less bothered by it.

In other news, although I said I'll finish up to v31 before the summer is up, I'm afraid I'll be temporarily stopping here due to time constraints. It's actually better this way since if I stopped at v31, it'd come right in the middle of the battle between Cao Cao and Ma Chao. I am aware that I should actually be releasing the 36th volume this October had I kept with the 1volume/month pace as part of the 5-year plan but hey, not all 5-year plans work as promised as Stalin and Mao would admit. At least my plan didn't involve the death of millions...

But going back on-topic, I will keep my promise about getting to the new volume of Zero as soon as there are scans online (came out in Japan on the 17th), but don't expect much releases after that for like, maybe 2 months(?). 

Download: (All links now have the missing p188 included. My bad)
Sangokushi c184:   Sendspace
Sangokushi v30:   Minus;   Sendspace

7 August 2012

Sangokushi v30 (last updated Aug 19)

I hate how the table of contents page throws out spoilers.
There's a humorous little story about the archery competition here where EVERYBODY gets bulls-eyes and Xu Chu and Xu Huang start beating the crap out of each other that was sadly omitted. It is kind of out place so I understand why. Plus, Xu Huang hasn't even made his official appearance in the manga yet.
It's a little comical how they all still go to great lengths in respecting imperial authority when they actually know it's Cao Cao's authority, not the emperor's.
Lol at Sun Yu getting a small introduction when he's one of the most insignificant characters in the story. But in any case, R.I.P. I'll always remember your last words. It's a shame it becomes a little wordy in English.
I really, really, really wish there was some place to get these pages that were originally in colour.
Oh Pang Tong. What a character.
Enter Ma Chao. I love his little helmet.

Download:
Sangokushi c177:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c178:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c179:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c180:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c181:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c182:   Sendspace
Sangokushi c183:   Sendspace

6 August 2012

Some Thoughts About Good Manga 3

It's that time again to share my thoughts on some good manga. The first of two manga I want to write about today is a story drawn and written by Oshimi Shuuzou. He's probably best known in Japan and the English manga community for his rather unusual story, Aku no Hana (Flowers of Evil), which has proven quite successful enough to earn an anime adaptation in the near future (I was surprised to hear it was even licensed by Vertical). But enough about that, because I'm actually here to talk about a 1-volume long manga Oshimi recently put out back in 2011 by the name of Sweet Poolside.
Oota Toshihiko is a meek 7th grade boy who's teased for having an unnaturally hairless skin. Meanwhile, his female classmate Gotou Ayako suffers from having unnaturally hairy skin which she must shave everyday, despite being terrible at shaving. And by the 2nd law of manga-tropes, Oota accidentally walks in on Gotou shaving one day, and is then roped into helping her hairy classmate shave. Oh Japan, this is why we love your anime and manga.
So what makes this worth reading? Well, it's pretty much the go-to manga for those with a shaving fetish, a relatively uncharted territory even for doujins or H-manga in my experience. I think that partly has to do with Japan's "culture," (if you know what I mean) and in fact, Oshimi himself admits in the afterword that he was quite relieved to hear that some of his readers did find it erotic. Of course, that's not to admit I have a shaving fetish (I don't. Really.) but I always give props to stories that tackle something new, whether it's ground-breaking social commentary or boner-inducing fetish-fuel. And although the story's primary appeal is the shaving-fetish, Oshimi doesn't get too carried away as he prevents his characters from becoming mere vehicles for the fetish itself. The only real flaw is that despite the unusual premise, the actual plot is a little too typical for a light romance story. Then again, since the story is only about 140 pages long, the premise alone is enough to hold the reader's attention all the way through to the end.
In case you're wondering why Sweet Poolside is only ~140 pages long, that's because there's a ~40 page oneshot that's included at the end about a boy who has the power to see through clothing. It's a funny little story with a nice twist in the end, and the Umezu references are a nice touch as well. Hopefully some scanlator will pick this short project up in the near future.
Now before I get to the 2nd manga of this post, I want to talk a little about one of my favourite mangaka, Yokoyama Mitsuteru. It's a real shame that while other influential shonen mangaka such as Tezuka or Nagai have gotten recognition outside their most iconic classics (Astro Boy for the former and possibly Mazinger for the latter), Yokoyama seems to be hardly known outside of Tetsujin 28 (also known as Gigantor in the States). The reason for this, I think, has to do with Yokoyama's "dry" style of storytelling, which heavily emphasizes plot over characterization, and is unable to resonate in modern-day fans of manga who are drawn to the medium in the first place by its potential for expressiveness. So while readers can sympathize more easily with Tezuka's characters who openly show sadness and loneliness, or get riled-up along with Nagai's characters with their expressive close-ups of intense rage, they might be at a loss as to how to feel about Yokoyama's characters, who rarely even have thought bubbles attached to them. I don't see this as a flaw, however, as I find his lack of dramatization lends way for a more honest and realistic air where characters don't seem artificially written to pull at my heart strings or to be entertaining. This is exactly why I love his historical manga. Whereas other historical manga will be written so that many events are dramatized so that the average reader can find "boring old history" to be interesting, Yokoyama stays clear from that and simply tells it like it is.
Now the reason I mentioned Yokoyama, of course, is because the 2nd manga I want to talk about is Babel II. A great shonen-classic of the 70s, the story is about a boy named Kouichi who discovers that his real identity is Babel the 2nd, the descendent of an alien named Babel who once ordered the construction of the mythical Tower of Babel. Once discovering his true identity, his latent psychic powers awake and, like any superhero, must now do battle with a supervillain named Yomi, who plans to take over the world. The premise itself seems very childish, as it rightly should be since that is its target demographic, but there's something about this manga that still makes it a great read for even for older readers. And that something is the villain Yomi.
Although the manga is titled after the main character, the manga might as well be called Yomi because not only does he get as much screen time (or more accurately page time?) as the hero, but he steals the spotlight through his sheer competence, a quality so many super-villains seems to lack. There's no "catch-the-hero-and-explain-how-he-could-possibly-stop-my-plans" or "construct-elaborate-plans-to-kill-the-hero-after-catching-him" nonsense that you'd typically expect from a children's comic about villains that aim at world domination. He's always serious, professional, and would rather die before underestimating his arch-nemesis.  In fact, he really can't afford to underestimate Babel II because the hero possesses 3 ridiculously overpowered servants, Lodem (can transform to anything), Ropross (giant Pteranodon-robot that can fly at supersonic speeds and fire rockets and sonic booms), and Poseidon (giant humanoid robot that's armed to the teeth, virtually indestructible, and can operate on both land and sea). Despite the odds being seemingly stacked against Yomi on paper, his resourcefulness and cunning manages to corner the hero many times and almost makes it seem as if he had the upper hand all along. Furthermore, where other super-villains won't bat an eye when their henchmen die, Yomi shows several instances of love for his men, who in turn, deeply respect him. The best example of this would be when he willingly gives up a chance to destroy Babel II because Babel II has taken Yomi's henchmen hostage. Seriously now. That is one classy villain. So I salute you, Yokoyama, for creating a damn fine character who lets his actions speak far louder than any words can.

P.S. Go watch Imagawa's re-imagining of Tetsujin 28 in his 2004 remake if you haven't yet. It is absolutely fantastic.

3 August 2012

Tomorrow's Joe v10 Cont'd (last updated Aug 24)

Making a new Joe post since the old one dropped off the first page.

Once again, my new filesharing site is http://hox3000.minus.com/uploads but I'll only upload complete volumes there. For individual chapters, I'll just use sendspace.
Only one more chapter left in this volume. And it' the chapter I've been waiting for the most to release.

Download:
Tomorrow's Joe v10-5:   Sendspace
Tomorrow's Joe v10-6:   Sendspace
Tomorrow's Joe v10-7:   Sendspace

Diplomatic Marriage

And another volume done! Hope you guys found this volume as fun as I did. Sun Quan and Zhou Yu screwing themselves over is just too hilarious. It's a real shame Lady Sun/Sun Ren/Sun Renxian/etc. doesn't come to play a greater role throughout this series as she's quite a character. Look forward to the next volume, as Pang Tong will again re-appear as well as Ma Teng and his sons.

In other news, my new filesharing site is: http://hox3000.minus.com/uploads


Download:
Sangokushi c176:   Sendspace
Sangokushi v28:   Minus