YES! I came to this thread just because とんがり帽子のアトリエ has been gathering digital dust on my digital bookshelf for too long and I was hoping it would get picked first, but somewhere deep in my heart, I was also hoping that someone would nominate this.
Aside from me making GochiUsa volume 1 my very first manga I read in Japanese, which lasted me…200 days? to get to the end of the volume.
*No one in a book club
It probably took me nearly as long since it was my second manga after two volumes of Yotsuba.
Let me introduce you to the monumental effort that was the Mitsuboshi Colors book club.
I honestly was not expecting that length when I nominated it. But if it helped more people complete the volume, then maybe it was worth a little extra time.
It had a fairly solid mid-range showing in the last IBC poll, so I might leave it there. Plus, given the volume of nominations going here, it might have less competition over there.
I’d better make my nominations before the slots fill up, but I’m gonna have to do it after I get home from work…
ご注文はうさぎですか? / Is the Order a Rabbit?
Natively: Level 24
Summary
“Bunny rabbits! Bunny rabbits!♪” Cocoa sang as she entered the café “Rabbit House.” Little did she know that she would be spending the next few years of her life there.
Follow Cocoa as she makes friends with the quiet and blunt Chino, the strict yet kind military buff Rize, the calm and gentle Chiya, and the elegant yet down-to-earth Syaro!
Availability
Physical: CD Japan | Amazon US | Amazon JP
Digital: eBook Japan | BookWalker | Honto | Rakuten | Kinokuniya JP
Personal Opinion
It’s a cute slice of life where I enjoyed the anime, so I’m kind of interested in reading the source material and seeing how it differs. It’s probably one of the CGDCT slice of life that changed my mind on the genre, and unlike Girls und Panzer, it didn’t even need to involve tanks (unless you believe the crack theories)
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Standard life setting, with some cafe terminology maybe, but judging by the anime the topics shouldn’t be too out there.
- 4koma is a format that hasn’t gotten too much love in other book clubs
Cons
- Lower level than the target level (but it has already been refused by the BBC as too difficult)
- The illustrations on the characters pages before the manga starts are… surprisingly fan-servicey, given what I remember of the anime
- There was a ad-hoc club back in 2018: ご注文はうさぎですか miscellaneous discussion
Pictures
I guess Bocchi wouldn’t want to front multiple popularity polls anyway
Spoiler
Aka the thread where I post a few times a year to share the cover art for new volumes and art from the April Fools events.
Bonus pro: there’s an oversized (original magazine size) version that contains two volumes in one that also includes all the original color pages (2/8 pages in most chapters).
Sizing which extends to digital.
The great duality of Bocchi - she wants to be popular at school, but is also afraid of being popular.
The “shaded” ones are actually the color pages that unfortunately get converted to greyscale in the standard volume.
Here’s the page in color
紡ぐ乙女と大正の月
Natively: Level 29
Summary
令和から、大正の女学校へ転入!?ある日地震で気を失ってしまい、目覚めた時には大正十年の銀座に倒れていた女子高生・紡。行くあてもなく大ピンチなところを公爵令嬢・唯月に助けられ、彼女とともに女学校生活を送ることに。遠く離れた時代に流れ着いた少女の未来はどうなってしまうのか…?
The high school girl Tsumugu was knocked unconscious during an earthquake, and when she woke up she found herself in Ginza in the year of Taisho 10 (1921). Lost and confused, she was rescued by Itsuki, a duke’s daughter, and started attending a girls’ school with her. What will happen to the future of a girl who has drifted to the distant past…?
Availability
Amazon JP | CD Japan
Kindle | BookWalker
Personal Opinion
The manga’s setting makes for some unique stories. It has good comedy like many Manga Time Kirara series, but it also has some drama. I enjoyed the first volume and it continues to get better as the series progresses.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Funny but has some good drama as well
- Not just another typical high school setting (yes, chapters take place in school, but it’s different since it’s 100 years ago; and there are non-school chapters as well)
- Learn about some Japanese cultural things from 100 years ago
Cons
- Occasional older vocab (but since the MC is confused too it’s not as bad)
- Even more rarely obsolete kana (but I found this kind of fun)
Pictures
Mushishi
Natively: Level 29
Summary
THEY HAVE EXISTED SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME. Some live in the deep darkness behind your eyelids. Some eat silence. Some thoughtlessly kill. Some simply drive men mad. They are known as mushi-creatures that came into being shortly after life emerged from the primordial ooze. They still exist parallel to our own lives and can only be seen by a select few. As a mushishi, Ginko is one of the few who are aware of their existense, and this young man with a sardonic smile roams from place to place with the knowledge and skill to aid those unwittingly affected by mushi. (shamelessly taken from the US Amazon listing)
Availability
eBook Japan
BookWalker
CD Japan
Honto
Amazon JP
Amazon Kindle JP
Amazon US
Kinokuniya JP
Opinion
It was a great episodic anime. I bet the manga will be similar and even if people miss a week, they can skip to the current chapter.
Pros
- episodic series, so easy to jump in and out
- not centered around miscommunication drama
- oldie but a goodie
- completed series
- insight into more traditional Japanese lifestyles. I don’t remember if they ever say when it takes place, but most characters wear kimono and there’s not much Western influence
Cons
- little to no furigana
Man, I am NOT at this level yet but the nominations so far look so fun
voting is gonna be… hard
we’ve uncovered a whole strata of stuff that is way too hard for the BBC, but not quite the vibe to get voted for in the IBC/ABC
Doesn’t have to be very strict, I’m thinking if it would have been rejected by the BBC because too hard, then it’s good here! Nice that you have so many nominations under your sleeve! Maybe just a couple so there’s room for other people to nominate, I can see that it’s not an issue after all
I’ll try to catch up with adding all the nominations to the first post and to the natively list ASAP, thanks for the contributions everyone
And we are up to date (so far)! Loving the new Natively lists, if someone hasn’t seen it yet I’ll post it here but it’s also in the first post:
ふしぎの国のバード / UNBEATEN TRACKS in JAPAN
Natively: Level 29
Summary
Japanese
第1巻の内容紹介: ディスカバー・ジャパンーーこれは、古き良き日本文化を取り戻すための物語。 時は明治初頭。東京から蝦夷まで、地図なき道を旅したイギリス人がいた。その名はイザベラ・バード、冒険家。彼女の目的はただひとつ、滅びゆく日本古来の生活を記録に残すこと。通訳の伊藤鶴吉をひとり連れ、日本人すらも踏み入ったことのない奥地への旅が、今はじまる!漫画誌ハルタの実力派新人・佐々大河。初のコミックスは、日本の魅力を熱筆した旅物語!!
English
(DeepL) Volume 1: Discover Japan - This is a story about the restoration of good old Japanese culture. The time is early Meiji era. There was an Englishman who traveled from Tokyo to Ezo on a road without a map. Her name was Isabella Bird, an adventurer. She had only one goal: to record the dying traditional lifestyle of Japan. With her interpreter, Tsurukichi Ito, she begins her journey into a remote region where even the Japanese have never ventured before! Sasa Taiga is a talented newcomer to the manga magazine HARUTA. His first comic is a travel story with passionate descriptions of the charms of Japan!
Availability
Amazon JP | CD Japan
Kindle | BookWalker
Personal Opinion
A good historical manga with some drama, at the time of Hepburn. I quite enjoyed the series. Up to Vol.10 and not completed yet, but probably near the end.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Fun manga artwork
- Has some good drama
- Interesting cultural settings between Japan and the West from 150 years ago
- Real historical persons
Cons
- Nothing in particular, if you enjoy the genre
- Nothing like rare or alternate Kanji, as far as I remember
- No Furigana, though