Purchase Queue

Lest I forgot what I'm buying and make a dreaded repeat purchase.

From Barnes&Noble:

• [Yen Press] Void's Enigmatic Mansion Volume 1
• [Yen On] Sword Art Online: Aincrad Book 2
• [VIZ Shojo Beat] Sweet Rein Volume 2

From Amazon:

• [Hyperion Books] The Heroes of Olympus: The Blood of Olympus Book 5
• [VIZ Shojo Beat] Oresama Teacher Volume 17
• [VIZ Shojo Beat] My Love Story!! Volume 1-2

Should Have Treated You Better

Heh heh. I just love AJ's face in this album cover. So sweet and happy :'D Anyway, I love the song as well. Super catchy. Listen to it if you get the chance.

I also bought a bunch of May 7th Manga Releases!

• Strobe Edge 4 by Sakisaka Io
• Otomen 15 by Aya Kanno
• Bakuman 19 by youknowwho
• Pokemon Adventures 16 by youknowwho

By the way, all of these manga were bought at lower than cover price values online. Go ahead and check 'em out. It's pretty great =] You can also snag 'em on Amazon too if you'd prefer.
Fun!! I need a day to buy all my Japanese manga~

Making Plans for Buying Comics!

My plan of attack involves getting most of my Bakuman, Oresama Teacher and Yotsuba&!? volumes from Anime Expo 2013. There are usually some pretty nice discounts for NEW books at Anime Expo to try and get you to buy the manga there. The first time I went there, it was 30% off your entire purchase, so I just snagged the rest of my Spiral collection from there ;D The used books booths usually have 50% off, which is nice, but it's hard to find newer series there. Most of the titles are obscure of have been out for a long time in America (ie. Naruto, Bleach, Skip Beat). I will buy Strobe Edge, Pokemon Adventures DPP, Soul Eater Not! and Otomen as they come out (most likely in Barnes&Nobles where I can get a discount on them). Anything else, I'll probably just find cheap used copies online or at BookOff ^___^

This gets even better. So lots of the series I'm collecting at the moment are coming to an end in America! They include Bakuman, Otomen and also Chocolat (manhwa).

• Bakuman ends in 20 volumes.
  I've got about 6 non-consecutive volumes at the moment.
  VIZ's Shonen Jump is releasing every month until they hit the last two volumes. Then they'll wait a month for those two, I believe. That's fine with me. By the time Anime Expo hits, I think it might actually finish.
  Sooo... that means, if I don't find anymore volumes in the next 10 months (I'm sure I will lol) At 30% off an entire purchase, it'll cost me $90.90, plus potential tax, so that sound round up to about $100 for 13 volumes. Not bad, but I could probably do better lol.
  I should be finished with this series before the end of 2013
• Otomen seems like it's ending with 17 volumes in Japan.
  Volume 13 is on the way for me, that means there's only 4 volumes left to buy if that's true.
  American releases of Otomen are pretty much caught up, the 14th volume is already listed for New Years. That's about a 4 month delay, and I expect it to be the same for the rest of the volumes. Japan is releasing the 16th volume later THIS month.
  This allll means that I should be done with this series by the start of 2014 =]
• Chocolat will be done by the end of 2012, I don't think I need to say much about this LOL

 I hope that next year, I'll hear some nice new licensing agreements! I would love to hear if VIZ is planning to do the HGSS arc after they finish DPP and Platinum, because they're finally caught up in publishing the volumes in Japan. My other hopeful is a RE-license of Gakuen Alice because that's on it's last arc in Japan, and it's one of my favorite and most precious series! Oh yes, and with the coming of Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun's anime in October and success on the Oricon manga charts, I WISH that Kodansha USA would publish it in English! That would seriously be awesome.

If I hear some news about a licensing of new works from Natsuki Takaya, Aya Nakahara, Kawahara Kazune, Izumi Tsubaki and Sakisaka Io... I will be SOOOO excited!

My final hope is that Yen Press will be able to pick up a nice new manhwa title or two next year! It's tough getting a license for Korean comics because their industry isn't as stable as Japan's comic industry. Often, series get cut left and right, plus they're only starting to get a little popular. Manhwa (currently) has a certain taste to it that's a little different than Japanese manga that caters to a whole assortment of people.

So... there are my hopes! =]

Pictures of July

Here we go~ I'm going to try to post more pictures of my bookshelf and stuff to make this blog a little more interesting.

Here are pictures of the all the manga I bought and received in July. (Oh, and ignore my clothes in the corner haha.)

I bought most of the volumes from two different BookOff's, my friend bought me a volume of "The Magic Touch" when we dropped by Barnes&Nobles, and I snagged Hirunak no Ryuusei from Sanseido as per usual.

I regret not buying that random volume of Sukitte Iwaseru Houhou when I visited Kinokuniya, but... that's in the past now... I can't change anything haha

And here's what my bookshelf looks like now that's it's been updated and reorganized into a JP and KR only bookshelf!

It features some of the things I got from Kuroneko of Omari's Sisters and the new Pokemon Conquest game =]

Fruits Basket is on loan to a friend of mine for now, so that's what that big gap in the middle is between Full Moon and Comic Party.

I hope to be able to review volumes or series every now and then on this blog. So yup! If there's any particular volume that you'd like to get reviewed, tell me and I'll do it as long as I have it.

Summer Lookout

Barnes and Nobles (if you can't already tell how avid a member I am of it) is having some great deals on manga Pre-orders! There's so much that I'm keeping an eye out for to snag at practically 50% off 8D

Here's the first bit of news to share... B&N has now started incorporating "Manga Mondays", where they take 50% off the cover price of the first volume of 3 random series every week!! So this is pretty exciting haha.

Not only that, but there are a lot of preorders in the summer or fall time that have been marked DOWN DOWN DOWN. Here's a list of stuff that I'm looking forward to :'D

• Yotsuba&! Volume 11
  Cover: $11.99....... Now: $6.49
• Oresama Teacher Volumes 9-10
  Cover: $9.99......... Now: $5.67
• Bakuman Volumes 12-13
  Cover: $9.99......... Now: $5.67
• Otomen Volume 13
  Cover: $9.99......... Now: $5.67

Oh yeah, and I spotted something extremely convenient and AWESOME that B&N was planning to sell. Pokemon Adventures BOX SETS. Yeah, that's right. For Black and White as well. It doesn't stop there. They're all 50% off too. AWESOME.... I'm biding my time though. I wanna see what's included and what it looks like. They come out in August anywho, no rush ;] BUUT... I've definitely been waiting for something this convenient!

Buying manga has never been so exciting!! 8D

50% Off Kid's Books Sale!?

So B&N had a 50% off kid's books sales, and that was the push that got me to buy POKEMON ADVENTURES!!
I'm buying the Platinum/Diamond/Pearl Arc first, and I'll buy the rest next time there's a fantastic sale (or bundle deal) But I'm on a little strike against the first few arcs of the series because they did some alteration jobs on it PLUS they're not planning on translating my FAVORITE arc, the Ruby/Sapphire chapter. Which, I think all PokeSpe fan around the world agree, was one of the best (and they were all pretty freakin' fantastic.)

Bought the first five volumes of the PDP Arc (the fifth is a PreOrder) and uhh... within 3 days, they're now on my bookshelf =] (+4 manga to the count) $4 per volume, no shipping and handling costs. BRILLIANT. I quite adore my B&N membership.

Renewed Membership

I just renewed my Barnes and Noble membership last week. And I dare say, it's freaking fantastic enough for me to pay for it myself ;] Only $25, I SAVE so much with it (especially on shipping&handling)

Not only that, I snagged myself Otomen Volume 11, BRAND SPANKIN' NEW for about $5. SUH-WEET COUPONS OF HOLY MATRIMONY----YESS!!! >:'D It has arrived at my doorstep and it is aweesoome.

PLUUS. A little tidbit for B&N manga lovers. Check out your favorite series and take a gander at the upcoming unreleased volumes. Preorders tend to have some nice discounts attached to them. For example, I was looking at some of my lower priority manga Oresama Teacher and Bakuman. And I noticed volume 9 and 12 respectively were only $5.67 EACH. Okay, that sounds great, but you gotta understand... VIZ doesn't put discounts on their manga for ANYTHING. They have a nice flat rate with all their manga: $9.99 and that doesn't change, ANYWHERE. Other publishers have tons of discounts, but that's because their manga have higher cover prices, so... It's PRETTY fantastic.

Sure, I have to wait until summer before I get them, but they're cheap NOW and I'm gonna buy them eventually. I sure do love my manga to be less than $6~ 8D

Utilizing Gifts

Not too long ago (in fact, like 10 minutes ago) I purchased volumes 4 through 10 of Legend by Kara and Woo SooJung for a whopping total of $61.93! That's really not too bad for 7 volumes of manhwa that originally was worth $11.99 a pop. ;D If you broke out the calculator, that would have been at least $83.93, not to mention shipping and handling, plus outrageous California taxes. I'd round it up to $100 at original price.

I get all my deals at Barnes&Nobles, for me, it's just a trustworthy thing.

Here are all the prices I got my manhwa for this time around ^___^

These volumes were from other retailers. I made sure the ending price with S&H was still cheaper than Barnes&Noble before buying them.
Volume 4 - $3.66 + $3.99 (S&H) + No tax
Volume 5 - $3.99 + $3.99 (S&H) + No tax
Volume 6 - $3.99 + $3.99 (S&H) + No tax

I bought these straight from B&N for great discounted prices~ As well as free S&H for purchases over $25 (if you're not a member.) I get free EXPRESS S&H regardless because I'm a member :'D
Volume 7 - $8.64
Volume 8 - $9.75
Volume 9 - $8.94
Volume 10 - $7.91

So go buy some good manhwa!

This will bring my total up to what? 114 Manga and 27 Manhwa ;]

Gentlemen's Alliance Volume 11 by Arina Tanemura

Summary...
In return for a business loan of 50 million yen, the prestigious Kamiya family gave their daughter Haine away to the Otomiya family. Haine, now an Otomiya, is appointed to the student council of the exclusive Imperial Academy, a private school for the aristocracy. Even though Haine is of proper lineage to be on the council, she finds herself struggling to find her place among the many secrets of its elite members, especially those of the president who holds her heart--Shizumasa Togu, aka "the Emperor." Haine goes to Shizumasa and Takanari's grandfather, the head of the Togu family, to ask him to release the twins from their fate. He tells her she must pass the same trial the twins went through for determining the Togu heir. Haine agrees, but little does she know that a former friend is now out for her life.

So What Do I Think!?
Arina Tanemura's art is incredibly detailed, and no doubt beautiful to anyone who sees it, but I think it's getting a little worn on me. After reading and collecting all seven volumes of Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne and Full Moon o Sagashite (which were very good when I read them) I found this to be slightly disappointing story wise. Perhaps it's because the main protagonists look like copies of her previous main protagonists. It makes me wonder why she can make a variety of side characters in each series, but her protagonists remain virtually indifferent. Final volume-wise, the ending was of course fast packed action, not in a bad way, but still kinda rushed. Everyone is bipolar as usual, so yeah...

Chapter 45. Leaving One's Grief in the Night So in this chapter, basically everyone helps Haine get to the head of the Togu family, and she demands of him to release the brothers from the traditions. So this chapter was a little cliche for my tastes. Her friends get stationed off at each obstacle and helps her get to the final boss. There's a random scene with Ushio and Senri, also kind of corny.

Chapter 46. The Happy Ending Haine does the test and Toya comes out of no where with a gun and is all murderous and suicidal. Haine is hurt, but she perseveres and jumps into the pond off a cliff. I love the illustration here, it's very emotional. She finds both stones despite the impossibility. Haine passes the test, but is knocked out unconscious by the end of the chapter. I think it was a nice chapter, so not much to comment on besides Toya's uber bipolarness annoying the brain cells out of me

Final Chapter. This is the End if You're Going to Give Up, but if You're Not, Let Us Walk Together Haine gets married to Takanari, and everyone falls in love. I found it hilarious when Toya catches the bouquet. After Shizumasa's disappearance, he comes back to live with the newly wedded couple (which presents itself as an obvious problem) and everyone is happily in love by the end of the chapter.

Bonus Story It basically goes over everyone's relationships and confirms them which would have lead up to the final chapter. Not bad, just satisfies everyone's desires to know what happened and how.

The Globe of the Sea Nocturne An unrelated story about a student who loves her teacher, and comes to school just to meet him. However, it turns out that she's been sleepwalking, but he eventually finds a way to love her nevertheless. Cute, short, but kinda weird at the same time. Once again I didn't have much to comment on in this volume.

Bonus Story. The Water Bubble Princess A little more on the relationship with Ushio and Senri, haha, Senri is all jealous of Ushio's first. It took me a couple of reads to understand the whole point that Tanemura was getting across, and I still barely get it. I like the couple, so that's okay haha.

I'm just glad that I finished buying the series, and I think I won't buy anymore Arina Tanemura works from here on out. Sorry to disappoint you Tanemura fans, but my love for her work has faded.

13th Boy Volume 3 by SangEun Lee

Summary...
Hee-So’s stuck with Sae-Bom on cooking duty at the Scouts’ joint volunteer outing at a local orphanage, ruining her chances of showing off in front of Won-Jun! And Sae-Bom’s no help either, ’cos she’s too busy making lunch for her dearest Whie-Young! Suddenly, it occurs to Hee-So that making lunch for Won-Jun might not be such a bad idea. But when the two girls go to make their special deliveries, a dangerous accident threatens both their lives. And in the heat of the moment, Won-Jun, who witnesses the accident, takes a most unexpected course of action. Has he gone and irreparably crushed Hee-So’s dreams? Will Whie-Young be able to pick up the pieces?

So What Do I Think!?
The art is beautiful of course, that's why I buy most manga or manhwa. But since the plot looked good, I kept buying it. The thing about manhwa is... all the girls (including the herione, she's usually the top dog) are complete "bi-otches". Mind my wording, but that's how it is.

Step 9. I Want to Know How You Really Feel! Haha, I always laugh whenever I see Hee-So so simple-minded, breaking all those rules, breaking her self-esteem and almost breaking every bone in her body. What surprises me is when she actually attempts to look for the boy, but her intentions are never pure as they seem to be on the outside. I expect nothing less from Hee-So...

Step 10. Giant Snowflakes in MidSummer YEEEEAH! Whie-Young gets to eat Hee-So's bentou! It's not as romantic as it could be, but hey, who am I to say anything about these two characters, they have serious issues in that department. There are some other Whie-So moments, and as couple-like as they could have been it's like you're cracking up on the inside. The two orphans with their Korean drama moment was hilarious, you could see that happen a mile away. But the fact that they're not the main characters, and the mains are WATCHING them do these things just makes the perfect comedic moment. Yay for the past, Hee-So remembers, and man, even in the past she was a bad girlfriend. I could understand about the heat being a problem though. Epic win for the last page of this Step. ♥

Step 11. What Happened Back Then? Now we get to see Beatrice and Won-Jun's past a little more. Some things are making more sense now. It's satisfying to see Whie-Young get jealous over his own creation.

Step 12. I'll Watch Over Sae-Bom! Dude, this chapter made me so angry and surprised. The whole time I was either going "WHAT THE CHUCK?" or "NO WAY!" So Hee-So risks everything just to be nice to Sae-Bom, but even worse, the other girls don't get it because they hate Sae-Bom. What I found to be the stupidest thing in this Step is that Hee-So's best friend for ten years, Nam-Joo, completely backstabs Hee-So (although she had it coming), the moment she thinks Hee-So chooses Sae-Bom over her. But luckily there was a like Whie-So action in this Step and that made me calm down a bit.

Can't wait for the next volume, that dodgeball game is gonna be intense, and that can't even describe the event enough.