Aoki-san was so cute in this chapter. *Δ* ♥ ♥ ♥ Her inner monologues really made me squee. She might seem aloof and cold sometimes, but deep inside, she's a pure and sensitive girl. Oh man... I'm both pleased and worried. I'm not sure whether I want her to fall in love with Akito or not because I don't want her to get rejected. ;-; NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO HURT HER. NOBODY. Well, I'm also concerned about Iwase for the same reason, but Iwase's chances are so low... while Aoki-san's romance with Akito doesn't seem entirely impossible. They have this kind of chemistry, and they seem to be honestly interested in each other, and they actually have something to talk about. I admit, I do have problems with Akito's attitude towards girls in general, but heck, this might be a chance for him to grow up. And really, no matter what happens, I just want Aoki-san to be happy. And Iwase, too. Iwase may be arrogant and elitist, BUT SHE IS MY BELOVED AIKO-TAN. ;o; ♥ Miyoshi's jealousy annoys me though... I mean, I KNOW that technically, she has some reasons to be jealous, but... argh, it's a very personal issue. Iwase's jealousy is easier for me to deal with because she's more reserved, haha. DOUBLE STANDARDS YAY. I'm totally not objective and I don't want to be.

Chapter 60 made me extremely happy because my beloved Aiko Iwase reappeared in it and had a short talk with Aoki-san. ♥ I'm super glad to know that she's doing fine, and that she's an award-winning young writer and a Literature major. Ha! Take that, Akito! It's also interesting how she resembles Kiyomi from Death Note - their appearances and dressing styles are very similar, both are students at the Tokyo University... and some guys seem to believe that Aiko should be Miss Touou. I totally agree. Again, like Kiyomi. Well, to be fair, Aiko isn't interested in this title (...or so she says), but that's another question. The point is that there are many parallels between her and Kiyomi's lives. It's as if Kiyomi is alive again, in a different world... ;o; ♥ I can dream, can't I? Although I do like Aiko as an independent character, too. So does Ohba-sensei, apparently. Ha. Of course. I'm also curious about Akito's possible future relationship with Aoki-san. This will make Miyoshi jealous, and a jealous Miyoshi can be dangerous. @.@; Last but not least, I'm kinda happy that Aoki-san doesn't really want to talk to Nakai - it doesn't look like she's secretly in love with him or anything. Not yet. She's just honestly focused on her work. Understandably enough, she isn't too fond of Yamahisa either.

Volume 5 of Baku-man will be released on November 4! The cover features Fukuda and his gang. ^^ It's really funny... and I can totally relate to Fukuda's anger and anguish. ^^;;; I rarely work with traditional ink these days because I ink everything in Paint Tool SAI, but I remember the pain of seeing an ugly blotch on your drawing... ;o; Hehe. And because I'll get paid for my translation work very soon, I'll be able to buy it without problems. Hmm... you know, I actually enjoy working as a freelance translator. I mean, I wouldn't want all of my jobs to be freelance, I DO need a regular job in order to feel safe, but it's still nice. Well, ideally, I'd like to be a cat or a panda in a zoo. Much like Hiramaru. ^^;;; Incidentally, I want volume 6 to have Hiramaru on it! Or maybe Aoki. Or both.

Hahaha, Hiramaru has a good taste in women. It shows how similar we actually are. Now I want him to hook up with Aoki! ...though she doesn't seem to be interested in him (she probably doesn't even remember him in the first place). ;;; I don't want her to end up with Nakai. I doubt that she's in love with him, it doesn't seem so right now - I think she's just honestly interested in a guy's opinion because of her current work. I can't be sure about that, but... argh, I have no idea. In any case, I love her and her hidden emotional vulnerability. ♥ Miho's text messages crack me up as usual... and I love how Shujin wants to stay with Saiko forever, no matter what. ♥

Among other things, chapter 58 has color pages with the ranking of the most popular in-universe manga in Baku-man. Saiko and Shujin's Detective TRAP is #1; Eiji's Crow is #2. Aw... I wish I could vote for Eiji. I mean, #2 is a great result, but I want this boy to stay on top forever because he's my personal god of art and ultimate source of inspiration. *.* Hehe. As for the chapter itself... I almost laughed when Nakai came to Takahama's place and met Katou. I have a feeling that Katou might become his new love... which is probably a good thing, really, because I don't want him to stay obsessed with Aoki-san. Aoki-san is awesome, but I honestly don't think that they're made for each other (well, that might change, of course, I just don't find them very shippable right now). I feel kinda sorry for Saiko and Shujin though; it seems that Miura is simply not the right editor for them. If only they could go back to Hattori-san...

Ah... why can't Kimi ni Todoke be a daily anime? ^^; And I still haven't found the raws of chapters 39 and 40, even though they supposedly contain some really interesting and important scenes with Sawako and Kazehaya... I've started reading Crazy For You though - it's also a romance shoujo manga done by Karuho Shiina-sensei. It's very interesting, though it also seems to be darker than Kimi ni Todoke. I mean, it's a teenage romance and not a thriller or anything, but it's psychologically dark in my opinion. Or maybe I just feel this way because I'm not a very passionate person, unlike the heroine. ;;; Anyway, it's pretty great. Also, this is completely off-topic, but in case you're into such things, I have a Plurk account now. I'll probably use it to kill time at work (because in some cases it's easier to use than my normal blog). ^^; Feel free to contact me there! My username is hiramaru, which is the last name of a certain character from Baku-man who resembles me in several unflattering ways. ^^;;; He's extremely lazy like me.

This chapter had so many great moments with Eiji! ♥ ♥ ♥ Damn. This boy is amazing (and he's also the most hilarious manga judge in the world!). Saiko and Shujin are truly lucky to have him as their rival and friend. He's just so... gah, I don't know where to start. But he's my second favorite manga character after Teru Mikami. I guess that says a lot. >.>;

We just want to be judged... by Niizuma Eiji! Oh, Moritaka, it's always nice to know that Eiji's opinion means so much to you. I guess it's only natural - Eiji's own plots aren't that unique (I mean... Crow sounds like a fairly typical battle manga to me), but he's a sharp thinker and he's really damn serious about quality, so I definitely understand why they trust him. I also like Akito's drafts! ^^ They're simple but funny.

You know, I think I'm glad that Aoki STILL doesn't like Nakai romantically. He won her respect and professional trust back in chapter 38, but he didn't win her heart, and thus she didn't end up looking like a prize. If Aoki is destined to fall for him (and I suspect that she is... though you can never be 100% sure with Ohba-sensei), I want her to do it under some entirely different circumstances and for different reasons. As for her new job offer, well... I understand why it looks like a very sexist scene, yet at the same time, Aoki's new editor is portrayed as a shallow and somewhat sleazy guy (take a look at chapter 53, he showed up there for the first time and even his co-workers scolded him for his attitude). I don't really feel that we're supposed to root for him, to be honest. Ohba-sensei is being realistic here, since such men exist everywhere, and Yamahisa is probably meant to represent the dirty side of the manga industry, much like that seiyuu manager who told Azuki to release an erotic photobook. Sadly, this is what Japan - as well as many other countries - can be like. I can't say that only bad secondary characters are sexist in Baku-man - Akito is a bit of a proverbial male chauvinist pig, too, but I must also note that girls often prove him and other guys wrong in subtle but clear ways (see Azuki with her acting career) or are not entirely comfortable with their ideas (like Aoki in this chapter). Again, I'm not saying that Baku-man doesn't have any problems, but it's not much worse than many other Shounen Jump manga and sometimes it actually shows misogyny in a distinctly negative light. Why am I rambling about this? Well, I do believe that if we want to dissect this series, we need to do it fairly and pay attention to all sides of the story.

In case you're curious, here are some color scans from the recent Shounen Jump issue. My personal favorite is, of course, the cover - because it features the Baku-man gang. Hmm... is it just the scan or Eiji really does have lavender hair? ^^ It's darker on the cover of volume 3. And the main duo seems younger for some reason.

Wow, Baku-man is early this week! Hahaha... Saiko and Shujin need Miyoshi because they don't want to get mistaken for a gay couple. ^^;;; And it's cool how Eiji understands their true strength so well. *.*

I'm slightly drunk (today we had a small party at our department... I took one sip of red wine and my mind went completely blank in less than a minute @.@;;; I'm not a drinker at all, and I don't even act funny when I'm drunk, I just become sleepy and apathetic like a brick), but I still want to talk about Baku-man! The newest spoilers are behind the cut because they're pretty big. ( SPOILERS ) Man, do I love rambling about this series. Death Note is my top favorite because I'm fiercely loyal to Teru (that's why I torture him so much, OBVIOUSLY), but Baku-man just... has nearly everything I'm interested in, and it's realistic. I want my volume 4 to arrive soon. *.* Unless I'm mistaken, it contains the chapter where Aoki appears for the first time, among other things. ♥

Kito and I made up a truly fantastic Teru x Azuki story today. Damn, I love our wacky crossovers.

No Eiji this week. Aw. ;-; Hiramaru is hilarious as usual though. I'm very glad that his manga is popular - I'm kinda partial to Hiramaru (in other words... he reminds me of myself in more than one way ;;; no kidding, he's practically my avatar in the world of Baku-man, only I'm less talented), so I want him to be successful. Azuki's doing well, too, which is always nice to know. She has a role in a dubbed version of some Western TV series called Doctor Family... hahaha, I guess I'll just pretend that it's House M.D. (and yes, I know that House doesn't have a daughter, but maybe that's just a metaphor for Cameron... OKAY, I'm shutting up). ^^;;; Oh, and Azuki is 18 now! Time flies so fast in Baku-man. @.@; And I'm really sorry about Nakai and Aoki's manga, yet at the same time, I like Aoki's attitude. She's one of the few tsundere characters that I'm fond of, and she looks so pretty when she's all serious. *.* As for the main characters and their fate... well. We'll have to wait for another week. Gee, Ohba-sensei, aren't you nice.

I love Eiji's final line in this chapter. He's right, if Saiko and Shujin want to become successful and avoid cancellation, they need to fight with their own strength. Heck, in my opinion, there's nothing particularly callous about his behavior, he simply understands how things work in the world of manga. But yay~ Crow looks so cool as an anime! ^^ I WANT TO WATCH EIJI'S ANIME. ;-; ♥ And... haha, I wonder what Saiko and Shujin's fangirls write in their letters. ^^;;;

Chapter 50 was very appropriate for the manga's first anniversary - it had color pages and a bunch of moving moments. And I really loved Eiji's brief interaction with Moritaka, it was cute. ^^ It's interesting how Eiji sees both Moritaka and Akito as his rivals (obviously, because he respects Moritaka for his drawing skills AND Akito for his writing talent), but he seems to be... I dunno, closer to Moritaka as a person. I mean, I'm sure that he and Akito are on generally good terms since Eiji is actually quite nice to most people, but Moritaka and Eiji look more like a slightly weird pair of friends. Also! Eiji's manga, Crow, is going to be animated! *o* Good job, Eiji!

Well... here's my gift for Baku-man's first anniversary - a picture of Eiji. ( PICTURE )

I really want to draw another doujinshi. ^^; I don't feel like doing my own comic though because I find group art projects more fun (which is odd, I'm not especially fond of group work in general)... but I'd like to draw something for a Baku-man book or a Vampire Knight book. Sadly, Baku-man is a small fandom, and Vampire Knight just doesn't seem to be very... doujinshi-oriented. And of course I'd LOVE to do another Death Note doujinshi because, well, you know.

I'm reading Ayatsuri Sakon, a detective manga drawn by Obata-sensei in collaboration with Marou Sharaku-sensei. It's one of Obata-sensei's older works, so it's not insanely detailed like Death Note or Baku-man, but it's still very pretty: just look at Sakon, the protagonist... Sharaku-sensei's plot is interesting, too - I really like Sakon's split personality; well, I mean, Ukon IS supposed to be Sakon's other self and not a supernatural talking doll, right? In any case, it's very cool. I'm actually slightly familiar with the anime version of the story, but I've never seen the original manga before. The story seems to be somewhat episodic, but I don't mind that. Hmm... I'd like to read a Death Note + Ayatsuri Sakon crossover. I love mixing universes drawn by Obata-sensei. ^^;

Okay, here's that long shipping survey! Warning: may contain spoilers for all tagged series. ( MEME )