Street date: 2012.04.25
I would really lurve to go NikBabble™ mode, ON! on this (Sora!), so, let's see if RL cooperates. «Update: Because Lina-chan sez she misses NikBabble™ (Sankyuuu, Lina-chaaaan~)
Namida Usagi ~Seifuku no Kataomoi~ © Minase Ai/Shogakukan
[First serialized in Sho-Comi]
Published in Indonesia as Namida Usagi ~Tears of First Love~ by Gramedia/m&c!
"I don't know what Sora looks like nor his voice, and in a world this large, it would be next to impossible to ever meet him face to face. Little did I know he would appear right before my eyes..."
When she meets Kuon again at her part-time work, Momoka expects him to make fun of her like he usually does, but Teh Tsundere jerk-and-a-half Kuon subverts her expectations and actually acts *nice*. Momoka and Kuon become...if not quite buddies, then friendly acquaintances, much to boyfriend Narumi's chagrin. Not long after they grow close, Kuon makes a shocking confession: "I am Sora."
Namida Usagi ~Tears of First Love~ 7 compiles Stories 36 through 41, the last of which dropped my grade for this NamiUsa tank from 8 to 7.75 of 10 or B+. (Had it gotten that 8, it would have leveled up to A-. I couldn't see my way to giving it that grade, however, what with the story swerving from a Kuon–Usami–Narumi rabu triangle to an Usami–Narumi–Girl x cliffie.)
Nine Namida Usagi ~Seifuku no Kataomoi~ tankou have been released in Japan as of February 2012; the 10th (and last (完) ("End"), according to Amazon Japan) streets in Japan on 25 May 2012.
Now for the top manga DO WANT! —
Bleach vol 45 of 54+
By Kubo Tite
Ichigo returns to fake Karakura-chou where the combined Gotei 13 and Visored might fail to dispatch Aizen, whose powers are far greater than anyone had estimated. Aizen single-handedly defeats his opponents, including Ichigo, forcing commander Yamamoto himself to intervene.
Which explains why Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, whom manga-ka Kubo Tite described as Imperturbable and like an unmovable pivot
in the Bleach Official Character Book of Souls, page 200, is the cover boy of Bleach vol 45: The Burnout Inferno.
This Bleach volume compiles chapters 387 to 395: Ignited,
Eagle Without Wings 2 (EXTREME BATTLEMASTER MIX),
Winged Eagles 2,
BEYOND THE DEATH UNDERSTANDING,
The Blazing Glaciers,
The Breaking Glaciers,
The Burnout Inferno,
The Burnout Inferno 2
and The Burnout Inferno 3.
[*NOT m&c!'s chapter titles]
The latest Bleach tankou chapter is 479, Goodbye to Our Xcution,
bound in volume 54 of the same name, released in Japan 2 March 2012.
New m&c! titles
m&c! launches two shoujo manga—Flow of Love (Suiren) by Nanao Mio and My Beloved Tailor (Dekiai Oresama Tailor) by Yagami Rina—and premieres a new manhua martial arts series, City of Darkness by Andy Seto - Yu Er. I delve into some detail on the two shoujo standalones (one ex-Cheese!, the second from Sho-Comi) after the release list, but grant City of Darkness the snap synops up here: Despite winning battles left and right, Chen Luojun loses everything and is now hunted down by the Triad. What happened to plunge the fighting champ into this nightmare?
Mangazines: Cherry April 2012 edition
First off, Cherry April 2012 edition ups its price to IDR 30,000 from the previous IDR 27,500. It premieres Key of Love by Notoyama Keiko (originally Koi x Kagi or 恋×カギ ex-Ciao) and ends (it indicates Final Episode,
but closes with Bersambung
) I am not a Maid! by Iwaoka Meme. Deets after the release list.
m&c! manga (2011.04.25)
- Bleach vol 45 of 54+ by Kubo Tite
- First Love Lesson (Hatsukoi Shinan) vol 3 of 4 by Yabuuchi Yuu
- [Premiere] Flow of Love (Suiren) by Nanao Mio
- Love Button (Kokoro Button) vol 6 of 7+ by Usami Maki
- [Premiere] My Beloved Tailor (Dekiai Oresama Tailor) by Yagami Rina
- Namida Usagi ~Tears of First Love~ (Namida Usagi ~Seifuku no Kataomoi~) vol 7 of 10 by Minase Ai
 | Hatsukoi Shinan 「初恋指南」 |
Other languages
German (Egmont Manga & Anime: Love Love Mangaka, four volumes per 2011.08)
 | Suiren 「水恋－すいれん－」 |
 | Kokoro · Button 「ココロ・ボタン」 |
 | Dekiai Oresama Tailor 「溺愛オレ様テーラー」 |
 | Namida Usagi ~Seifuku no Kataomoi~ |
OEL manga [AMERO comics] (2011.04.25)
- Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives vol 2 of 3 by Ellen Schreiber
 | Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives |
Related series
Main story: the Vampire Kisses series by Ellen Schreiber (Vampire Kisses (2003), Vampire Kisses 2: Kissing Coffins (2005), Vampire Kisses 3: Vampireville (2006), Vampire Kisses 4: Dance with a Vampire (2007) Vampire Kisses 5: The Coffin Club (2008), Vampire Kisses 6: Royal Blood (2009), Vampire Kisses 7: Love Bites (2010), Vampire Kisses 8: Cryptic Cravings (2011) and Vampire Kisses: Immortal Hearts (2012.05.15 street date)
OEL manga sequel: Vampire Kisses: Graveyard Games illustrated by Xian Nu Studio (2011.09.27)
Hong Kong manhua (2011.04.25)
- [Series Premiere] City of Darkness vol 1 by Andy Seto - Yu Er
- Pedang Maha Dewa 4: Amazing Weapons - The Lost Blade vol 8 by Tony Wong
 | City of Darkness by Andy Seto - Yu Er |
 | Pedang Maha Dewa 4: Amazing Weapons - The Lost Blade |
[Release links are hide/unhide. Click for more details.]
Mangazines (2011.04.25)
- Cherry April 2012 Edition (Indonesian Ciao, Sho-Comi, ChuChu, Betsucomi, Flowers)
Bleach 「ＢＬＥＡＣＨ－ブリーチ－」
by Kubo Tite
Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump, shounen
Volume 45: The Burnout Inferno (chapters 387–395) first published in Japan 2010.06
Awards
Winner, 50th Shogakukan Manga Awards in the Shounen category
Other languages
English Bleach (VIZ Media: 39 volumes as of 2012.04.03 • volume 40 street date: 2012.06.05), French (Glénat: Tome 47 shipped 2012.03 • Tome 48 street date: 2012.05.09), Spanish (Glénat in Spain, Grupo Editorial Vid in Mexico), German (TOKYOPOP Germany: Band 50 per 2012.03 • Band 51 street date: 2012.05.09), Dutch (Kana), Russian (Эксмо), Polish (JPF), Portuguese (Planet Manga) and simplified Chinese (Chuang Yi Singapore: Bleach #52: End of Bond released 2012.01)
Related
Kubo Tite and Makoto Matsubara co-authored two Bleach novels: BLEACH-letters from the other side: The Death and The Strawberry (Japan release: 2004.12) and BLEACH: The Honey Dish Rhapsody (2006.10).
The Bleach All Colour But The Black artbook, compiling color spreads from manga volumes 1 through 19 with original art and author annotations, released in Japan (2006.12), USA (The Art of Bleach, 2008.10) and France (All colour but the black: Recueil des illustrations de Bleach, 2008.11).
Companion guidebooks have also been published: Bleach SOULs and Bleach VIBEs released 2006.02 in Japan (The English Bleach SOULs. Official Character Book shipped 2008.11 in North America, while the French version streeted 2009.11). A third Bleach Official Bootleg: KaraBuri+ guidebook released 2007.08 in Japan. (English Color Bleach+: The Bleach Official Bootleg released 2010.08.10.) The fourth and fifth Bleach: Official Character Book 2: MASKED and Official Character Book 3: UNMASKED streeted in Japan on 2010.08.04 (same day as Volume 46: Back From Blind) and 2011.06.03 (along with Volume 50: The Six Fullbringers).
Adaptations
Studio Pierrot's anime adaptation first broadcast in October 2004 and ended with episode 366, which aired in Japan in 2012.03.27. Seiyuu Morita Masakazu and Orikasa Fumiko star as Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia, with Park Romi playing 10th Division captain Hitsugaya Toshiro. Two OAVs and four theatrical movies—Memories of Nobody; The DiamondDust Rebellion, Another Hyōrinmaru; Fade to Black, I Call Your Name; and Bleach: The Hell Verse—have been released. (Novelizations of these movies have also been published by JUMP J Books: Fade to Black, I Call Your Name in December 2008 and Bleach: The Hell Verse in December 2010.) Additionally, Warner Bros. has confirmed it will be producing a Bleach live-action film.
At least eight drama CDs have been produced. Featuring the original anime cast, the drama CDs were bundled with the DVDs.