Street date: 6 June 2012
Imma lead this Level shopping list—now + NikBabble™—with March Story 1, Kim HyungMin & Yang KyungIl's ongoing Sunday GX Demons, Exorcism, Gothic
seinen manhwa starring demon hunter March that was supposed to have been postponed to next week, but actually streeted yesterday. (I can confirm; I have an actual copy in front of me...and I have a snap review below.)
March Story © Kim HyungMin & Yang KyungIl
Shogakukan [Serialized in Sunday GX]
Published in Indonesia by Level Comics
Pretty things that seduce and creatures spawned from such perfection — ill. Demonic ill latch on to humans through these things of beauty suffused with their creators' anguish, driving their hosts to commit monstrous violence. Hunter March wanders from town to town exterminating ill.
I can add from VIZ Media's March Story, Vol. 1 description, Born of tragedy, the artifacts all have their own tales to tell, as do each of their victims. But March's story may be the most tragic of all.
March Story 1 Report Card × My Impreshuns
I can attest to the promised pathos. Black Dream
(chapter 4) delving into the history of the peripatetic March IS the most harrowing of all, at least of this volume 1 sub-set. (Raspberry...
*wails*) The other tragic tales, Hunter with Thorns,
Orche's Mask
and Memory of Glass Color that Runs by the Wind,
are equally poignant and guaranteed to wring a tear, or three. For this reason—plus the pretty, pretty and appropriately creepy art—I grant March Story 1 an 8 of 10 ♡, or an A-. GET!
Other Kim HyungMin and Yang KyungIl manhwa
March Story, serialized in Sunday GX since 2008 (four tankou compiled in Japan as of December 2011), is writer Kim HyungMin's debut.
Meanwhile, you might've already run across manhwa-ga Yang KyungIl from his collaborations with scribe Youn InWan, among them, Shin Angyo Onshi, serialized in Korea and Japan in Young Champ and Sunday GX (17 Japanese tankou published between July 2001 and October 2007; Level Comics' volume 17 released October 2008), and Defense Devil, which originally ran in Shonen Sunday (10 tankou compiled from August 2009 to September 2011), and published here by Elex Media (volume 7 released April 2012; serialized fortnightly in Shonen Star).
Aside from the Shin Angyo Onshi Gaiden side story (JP release: 2007.05), Yang KyungIl is also credited—along with Nanatsuki Kyouichi (ARMS, Aegis In the Dark)—with the new Prison, Super Powers, Survival, Transformations
Area D - Inou Ryouiki (debuted in Shonen Sunday in 2012). For other Yang KyungIl titles, go »here.
☞ Level also launches a new BD series—Cotton Kid by Pearce and Léturgie (Lucky Luke cartoonist)—but more on that below.
For nau, top DO WANT!
Soul Eater vol 16 (of 21+)
By Ohkubo Atsushi
Couldn't find a Level Soul Eater volume 16 blurb, so borrowing Wiki's summary:
While testing her new flying ability made available through Soul's powers as a Death Scythe, Maka learns that she is now considered to be a valuable asset to her enemies and will be hunted, which is made clear when she is attacked by Noah's servant Gopher, who she manages to defeat. Later, Kilik, Kim, Liz, and Patty retrieve Medusa's research notes in her old laboratory, briefly encountering and fighting off a black clown manufactured by Medusa. Black Star, meanwhile, seeks out Medusa's hideout and encounters Crona.
–Wikipedia
Soul Eater volume 16 compiles chapters 63 to 67: Gonna Be An Angel,
Preparedness,
Black Wings vs. White Wings,
The Witch's Research (Part 1)
and The Witch's Research (Part 2).
[*NOT Level chapter titles]
Air Gear vol 29 of 37
By Oh!great
Before I get into Air Gear 29, someone please confirm that volume 37 is the final volume? All I know is that the last chapter is Trick 357, and that's obviously not in volume 36, which streets in Japan next week (16 June), because there's a volume 37 skedded for release 17 July 2012.
Ikki and pals hit the ground running upon boarding the enemy ship. Nue engages Ikki, who, mindful of Simca's warning, hesitates to fight the Thunder King. Still, a clash is inescapable, forcing Ikki to order his friends to leave.
Who emerges the victor — the Storm King or the Thunder King? Find the answer in Air Gear volume 29, which compiles Tricks 268 to 277.
More previews of ongoing series after the release list.
New Level titles - cont'd: Cotton Kid
Per earlier note, Level premieres Pearce & Léturgie's Cotton Kid with the double-launch of Cotton Kid: Atas Nama Hukum dan Mr. Pinkerton (Cotton Kid, Tome 1: Au nom de la loi et de Mr Pinkerton) and Konser Rawa (Cotton Kid, Tome 2: Charivari dans les bayous). The titular Cotton Kid is the sidekick slash protector of big brother Pinkerton agent Trevor who dreams of becoming the agency's best operative.
(BDs, or ROMICs this week also include Lucky Luke: Bukit Apache by Morris & Goscinny, Agatha Christie: Murder on the Links Lapangan Golf Maut, Boule & Bill: Si Iseng Bill and Yakari: Pembalasan Wolverine.)
Level Comics manga and manhwa (2012.06.06)
- Air Gear vol 29 of 37 by Oh!great
- Bambino! Secondo vol 3 of 10+ by Sekiya Tetsuji
- Haruka 17 vol 17 of 19 by Yamazaki Sayaka
- [Series Premiere] March Story vol 1 of 4+ by Kim HyungMin & Yang KyungIl
- RRR vol 9 of 10 by Watanabe Jun
- Soul Eater vol 16 of 21+ by Ohkubo Atsushi
 | Bambino! Secondo |
Related series
Prequel: Bambino! (15 volumes)
 | Haruka 17 「はるか１７」 by Yamazaki Sayaka |
Adaptations
A 10-episode live-action drama starring Hirayama Aya (Miyamae Haruka) aired on TV Asahi from July to September 2005.
 | March Story 「ＭＡＲＣＨ ＳＴＯＲＹ」 |
Other languages
English March Story (VIZ Media: three volumes as of 2011.10 • volume 4 street date: 2012.10.16), traditional Chinese (Sharp Point Press Taiwan: MARCH STORY獵魔荒世錄 (03) released 2011.11
 | RRR 「ＲＲＲ」 by Watanabe Jun |
 | Soul Eater 「ソウルイーター」 |
Other languages
English Soul Eater (Yen Press: nine volumes as of 2012.05.29 • volume 10 street date: 2012.08.21), French (Kurokawa: Tome 19 shipped 2012.03 • Tome 20 street date: 2012.07.05), German (Carlsen Comics: Band 16 per 2012.04 • Band 17 street date: 2012.07.03), traditional Chinese (Sharp Point Press Taiwan: SOUL EATER噬魂者 20 released 2012.04)
Related series
First appeared as one-shots in two Gangan Powered special editions (Summer and Fall 2003) and Gangan Wing's 26 November 2003 issue. (Regular Monthly Shonen Gangan serialization commenced May 2004.)
Spin-off: Soul Eater Not! (began serialization in Shonen Gangan 2011.01; one volume released in Japan as of 2011.09; English Soul Eater NOT! manga licensed by Yen Press, volume 1 street date: 2012.07.24)
Adaptations
Manga volumes 1 to 12 adapted to anime by BONES. Fifty-one episodes starring seiyuu Omigawa Chiaki (Maka Alban) and Uchiyama Kouki (Soul Eater) aired in Japan from April 2008 to March 2009.
Square Enix bundled an audio drama, Soul Eater (Vol. 1): Special Social Studies Field Trip, with an artbook in August 2005. The drama CD featured different actors (Takeuchi Junko as Maka; Hoshi Souichirou as Soul Eater); only Kobayashi Yumiko reprised her Black☆Star role in the TV series.
[Release links are hide/unhide. Click for more details.]
European comics/BDs (2012.06.06)
- Agatha Christie: Murder on the Links Lapangan Golf Maut (Agatha Christie, Tome 7: Le crime du golf) by François Rivière, Marc Piskic
- Boule & Bill: Si Iseng Bill (Boule et Bill, Tome 16: Jeux de Bill) by Roba
- [Series Premiere] Cotton Kid: Atas Nama Hukum dan Mr. Pinkerton (Cotton Kid, Tome 1: Au nom de la loi et de Mr Pinkerton) by Pearce - Léturgie
- [Premiere] Cotton Kid: Konser Rawa (Cotton Kid, Tome 2: Charivari dans les bayous) by Pearce - Léturgie
- Lucky Luke: Bukit Apache (Lucky Luke Tome 6: Canyon Apache) by Morris & Goscinny
- Yakari: Pembalasan Wolverine (Yakari, Tome 26: La Vengeance du carcajou) by Job, Derib, Dominique
AirGear 「エア・ギア」 by Oh!great
Kodansha Weekly Shonen Magazine, shounen
Volume 29 (Tricks 268–277) first published in Japan 2010.07
Awards
Winner, 2006 Kodansha Manga Awards in the Shounen category
Other languages/serializations
English Air Gear (Del Rey: until Volume 15/16/17 per 2010.08; Kodansha Comics: from volume 18; 22 volumes as of 2012.02 • volume 23 street date: 2012.04.17), Korean (Haksan), traditional Chinese (Tong Li Taiwan: 飛輪少年 #34 per 2012.03), simplified Chinese (Chuang Yi Singapore: volume 28 per 2010.08), French (Pika Édition: Tome 33 shipped 2012.06.01), Italy (Planet Manga), Germany (Heyne) and Sweden (Schibsted Förlagen Sverige AB/serialized in Manga Mania)
Adaptations
A 25-episode anime by Toei Animation, starring Kamakari Kenta as Ikki; a series of Satelight-animated OADs shipped with the manga tankoubon (The first Air Gear: Kuro no Hane to Nemuri no Mori -Break on the Sky- OAD streeted with volume 30 in November 2010 with seiyuu Okamoto Nobuhiko as Ikki; the second OAD was bundled with volume 31 (2011.03.17), with a third released 2011.06.17); and a series of musicals