Also, The Bride's Stories volume 3. (Those who've been waiting for the continuation for 10 months, go, go, GO! to your favorite bookstore nau.)
Update: Replaced placeholder Japanese covers with Level artwork.
Drug-On © Saitoh Misaki/Gentosha
[First serialized in Comic Birz]
Published in Indonesia by Level Comics
The Takers find themselves outclassed as the battle against the Prince drags out. Kai is held captive while Jack goes berserker mode ON! and begins attacking indiscriminately. What will happen when the Prince retaliates and uses his ability to kill in an instant?
Obviously the Drug-On volume 2 cover with which I lead this post is not Level's version. Level artwork were still thin on the ground when I wrote this, so must make do. Still, the Indonesian cover shouldn't stray far from the JP ＤＲＵＧ‐ＯＮ ドラゴン ２ original. »Edit: Yup, the Level cover is the same as the Japanese one. Not like, say, the cover for the finale Blue Seal bunko, which also streets the same day. (For comparison, »here's how the Japanese Ao no Fuuin bunko volume 7 looks. Level uses the tankou volume 11 cover. Of course...)
Blue Seal vol 7 of 7
By Shinohara Chie
After gaining the power of Byakko, Akira executes the plan to wipe out all demons and orders the forest surrounded. Meanwhile, Soko learns the secret of the demons' source of life and wracks her brain for a peaceful coexistence alternative. But with Mt. Fuji erupting, Soko is forced to make a decision as demon queen Souryu, a decision that...
Don't miss the last volume of Blue Seal—what Level describes as a moving story of horror and love that transcends eons of darkness
—for the fate of Akira × Soko and other surprising secret revelations.
Now that Blue Seal's finished...what about Shinohara Chie-sensei's Red River? :D Also, I wouldn't mind if Level ramped up the release schedule for Basara... (There's still seven more volumes to Tamura Yumi's equally starcrossed lovers saga.)
Have A Good Night vol 3 of 12
By Yamazaki Sayaka
Shio's ex-husband Hibiki returns to Japan, but li'l brother Gai hides the news from Shio. Keeping the secret proves too much for Gai and he ends up making a huge mistake while working!
What was Gai's #Fail? And can Shio ever get away from Hibiki? Grab Have A Good Night volume 3 as your next bedtime read for answers.
☞ I preview Mori Kaoru's The Bride's Stories 3—which introduces us to a new bride—after the release list.
New Level titles (bandes dessinées or ROMICs)
Level launches Robin (Hood), the BD series by Turk & de Groot, originally published by Le Lombard. Robin Dubois, the brainchild of the same duo that brings us the hysterical Léonard, obviously draws inspiration from the legendary English outlaw, but Turk & de Groot's Robin deviates from the original heroic into silly and hilarious and...best buds with the Sheriff of Nottingham!? Enjoy their "Your money or your life!" hijinks in Makin Ramai, Makin Seru! (Robin Dubois: Plus on est de fous...) and Sama-Sama Bodoh (Robin Dubois: Le fond de l'air est bête).
Level Comics manga and manhua (2012.05.16)
- Blue Seal (Ao no Fuuin [Bunko]) vol 7 of 7 by Shinohara Chie [Finale]
- The Bride's Stories (Otoyomegatari) vol 3 of 4+ by Mori Kaoru
- Drug-On vol 2 of 5 by Saitoh Misaki
- Have A Good Night (Shima Shima) vol 3 of 12 by Yamazaki Sayaka
- The Ravages of Time (Huo Feng Liao Yuan) vol 16 of 45+ by Chan Mou
- Zipang vol 13 of 43 by Kawaguchi Kaiji
 | Otoyomegatari 「乙嫁語り」 by Mori Kaoru |
Awards
Nominee, 4th Manga Taisho awards (2011), along with I am a Hero by Hanazawa Kengo; March comes in like a lion by Umino Chika (award winner); Hana no Zubora-Meshi by Kusumi Masayuki, Mizusawa Etsuko; Un chocolatier de l'amour perdu by Mizushiro Setona and eight other manga
Other languages
English A Bride's Story (Yen Press: three volumes as of 2012.03.27), traditional Chinese (Kadokawa Media Taiwan: 姊嫁物語 3 per 2011.11), French (Editions Ki-oon: Bride Stories, Tome 3 shipped 2011.12)
Related series
4-koma side story Pariya-san wa Otoshigoro
 | Drug-On 「ＤＲＵＧ‐ＯＮ ドラゴン」 |
 | Shima Shima 「シマシマ」 |
Adaptations
The 10-episode live-action Shima Shima aired on TBS from April to June 2011, starring Yada Akiko as Houkigi Shio, Miura Shohei as Tamabuki Gai, Kikuta Daisuke as Futaba Ran, Suzuki Katsuhiro as Hayashida Rindou and Fukushi Sota as Makomo Shuuji.
 | Sanguozhi Qunxiongzhuan: Huo Feng Liao Yuan 「火鳳燎原」 |
Other languages/serializations
Simplified Chinese (Chuang Yi: 火凤燎原 #42 released 2011.09), Japanese (Media Factory 三国志群雄伝 火鳳燎原 9 per 2009.12), Vietnamese Hỏa Phụng Liêu Nguyên. The manhua is also published in Mainland China, Korea and Thailand.
 | Zipang 「ジパング」 by Kawaguchi Kaiji |
Awards
Winner, 26th Kodansha Manga Awards (2002) in the General category
Other language versions
English (Kodansha Bilingual Comics; partial), French (Kana: Zipang Tome 34 per 2012.02) and traditional Chinese (Sharp Point Press: 次元艦隊 43 per 2010.06)
Adaptations
Anime by Studio DEEN starring seiyuu Inada Tetsu (Executive Officer Kadomatsu Yosuke), Hoshino Takanori (Gunnery Officer Kikuchi Masayuki), Ueda Yuuji (Navigation Officer Oguri Kouhei), Yara Yuusaku (Captain Umezu Saburo) and Touchi Hiroki (Lt. Commander Kusaka Takumi) aired in Japan from October 2004 to March 2005
[Release links are hide/unhide. Click for more details.]
European comics/BDs (2012.05.16)
- Lucky Luke: Western Circus (Lucky Luke, Tome 5: Western Circus) by Morris & Goscinny
- Rantanplan: Ramuan Cerdas (Rantanplan, Tome 10: Les Cerveaux) by Morris, Vittorio & B. de Groot
- [Premiere] Robin: Makin Ramai, Makin Seru! (Robin Dubois: Plus on est de fous...) by Turk & de Groot
- [Premiere] Robin: Sama-Sama Bodoh (Robin Dubois: Le fond de l'air est bête) by Turk & de Groot
- Scrameustache: Scrameustache Kabur (Le Scrameustache, Tome 6: La fugue du Scrameustache) by Gos - Walt
Ao no Fuuin 「蒼の封印 (小学館文庫)」
by Shinohara Chie
AKA The seal on deep blue
Shogakukan Sho-Comi, shoujo
Bunko volume 7 first published in Japan 1999.05 (originally published in 11 tankoubon from 1992.04 to 1994.12)
Adaptations
Audio drama CD released by Shogakukan in May 1993 and light novels written by Yamamoto Natsumi and illustrated by Shinohara Chie, published under the KSS Comic Novels imprint (three volumes from September to December 1998)