Manga Review: Stepping On Roses GN 8

Stepping On Roses volume 8
Author: Rinko Ueda
Viz Media/Shojo Beat
200 pages

Sumi asks Nozomu to stop buying the land where she and Soichiro currently reside, and he agrees on one condition—Sumi has to leave Soichiro and become his wife instead! Faced with the possibility of eviction, Sumi must decide whether she’ll live in poverty with Soichiro or take Nozomu up on his offer… (Source: Goodreads/Viz Media)

It should come to no surprise that this blog would eventual review the latest volume of Stepping On Roses, the most recent shojo manga series by Rinko Ueda to be released in English (her previous work including the ninja-centric Tail Of The Moon). There's just something about the Edo-era melodramatics and soap opera style plot twists that have kept me glued to each volume. It also helps that Ueda's artwork is lush and inviting to the eye, and she doesn't skimp on the period-appropriate costumes. Yeah, it's that kind of manga - and if that kind of manga is your kind of manga, Stepping On Roses' latest release will not let you down.

Yet Another News Round-Up (Now With 100% More TYPE-MOON)

This week has been very exciting, especially if you are a fan of visual novels turned anime. This latest round-up proves that Sentai loves me very much and so does Dark Horse Manga.

• Crunchyroll: Preview videos for the Little Busters! anime are now up, thanks to the Warner Brothers' JP YouTube channel. We get to hear more of the voice talent, which is always a plus. The link includes previously posted preview videos.
• (Speaking of Little Busters!, awesomecurry at OASG has posted a review of the LB! visual novel and covers all of the routes, including the Refrain route. Go and read it!)
• Crunchyroll: Sentai Filmworks has licensed the Fate/Stay Night anime for Blu-Ray release; the first collection is scheduled for January 2013. Sentai has already licensed the Unlimited Blade Works film of the same series. Unsure if it will be a Blu-Ray/DVD bundle or just BR.
• ANN: Dark Horse just announced a handful of new manga releases, including a Trigun anthology and a new Neon Genesis Evangelion spinoff. The NGE spinoff is called Shinji Ikari Detective Diary and is a private eye AU featuring Shinji and Kaworu.
• Finally, Fantagraphics has given Wandering Son fans something to talk about: a subscription option for future volumes of the Wandering Son manga. Readers will get a discount for pre-ordering as opposed to buying them individually as they come out.

PR: Barrage GN 1 To Be Released Digitally Same Day As In Japan

SENSEI NO BARRAGE © 2012
by Kouhei Horikoshi/SHUEISHA Inc.

Wait, why is the digital coming out March 2013? That's a heck of a gap between digital and manga, especially for the first title to be cancelled in Shonen Jump Alpha. At least it'll be available for Android tablets!

VIZ MEDIA INVITES FANS TO CATCH THE FIRST SALVO OF SPACE BATTLE FANTASY MANGA SERIES BARRAGE ON VIZ MANGA APP AND VIZMANGA.COM

VIZ Media brings the new hit WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP ALPHA manga series – BARRAGE – to VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga App on October 4^th. Volume 1 of the action series, created by Kouhei Horikoshi, is rated ‘T’ for Teens and debuts today, the same day the graphic novel launches in Japan. Digital MSRP will be $4.99; the print edition is scheduled to debut in March 2013.

BARRAGE is a space battle fantasy series set on a planet called Industria, which is in a state of chaos, and its fate lays in the hands of Astro, a kid from the slums! Please visit VIZManga.com/barrage for a free chapter 1 preview of BARRAGE, as well as to purchase and view Volume 1.

Manga Review: Secretary's Job?

Secretary's Job?
Author: Miki Araya
June/Digital Manga Publishing
200 pages

Takase is a legendary secretary. He'll do anything to make your day easier and efficient. Some say he's a miracle worker. As per the President's request, Takase has been assigned to his lazy son, Honjo, to become Toshiaki Honjo's secretary. As always, Takase is doing his best to support him, but Honjo makes a move and kisses him at work What does this mean? Sounds like business is getting mixed up with pleasure. (Source: Goodreads)

If the name Miki Araya sounds familiar, it should; I reviewed a title by her earlier this year called I'll Be Your Slave, an oddly delightful book about Moriya and his favorite model who he ends up falling in love with. On the heels of that we have Secretary's Job?/秘書のお仕仕事?, based around secretaries and the stubborn men they work for that end up - wait for it - falling in love with their assistants. Opinion for this one doesn't seem to be as divided which is good, because Secretary's Job? is a surprising gem of a one-shot that will please any fan of BL office romance/humor.

AMV Of The Week: We're All Idiots

This week’s AMV is a full-out hilarious blast and a really great tribute to a shonen that deserves more love, the 60-episode series Beelzebub. It's cleverly edited, fits great with the music (which is in Dutch), and highlights a lot of reasons why Beelzebub is one of the most goofy high octane series in the past decade.
 
(Also, it's a good reminder to myself that I'm only 1/6th of the way through the anime. Whoops!)
 
AMV: Idiots!
Author: CharmingIceDS
Music: New Kids - Turbo
Warnings: A lot of madcap violence and some blood, possible spoilers for the Beelzebub anime.