These chapters see the kitten adjusting to their new home in a heart-warming sequence of events. The owner needs to move to a new more pet friendly place. I liked the sweet, tenderness this series has. It’s just genuinely pleasant to return to each week.

Chapter 2 was a little weaker admittedly but chapter 3 had some interesting ideas. I liked the change in perspective to the male love interest. It was interesting gaining some perspective on the protagonist and world from a different point of view.

Baby Zoccha chapters 3 and 4- this was delightfully enjoyable for lack of better wording I loved the exploration of dynamics between a mother cat and her kittens

Nuku Nuku Final chapters 3 and 4- this series still isn’t leaving that deep of an impression on me as it could have I loved certain aspects the artwork was lush and there were enjoyable moments I had fun reading it, it’s a fun way to pass the time

My First Cat chapters 3 and 4- the continued exploration into this stylish manga’s dynamic relationships between humans and cats required a brief re-read admittedly

Ryo Ikuemi’s There is A Limit to Cuteness chapters 3 and 4- more fluffy adventures to be had, oddly these types of short auto-biographical manga stick out in my head more the writing was concise and fun

Cat Melting Pot chapters 3 and 4- there was some fun slapstick-esque moments in these chapters that hit close to home as someone who has daily experiences with cats the more frank humor depicted on-panel created a more identifiable atmosphere

 

Keeping A Cat At the Age of thirty chapters 2 and 3- these stories were more philosophical in nature with the cat serving as a sound-board for the protagonist’s daily musings that said the cat them-self had layers to their dialogue that served as excellent contemplative material the watercolors were lushly illustrated even if you don’t normally care for this type of waxing philosophy narrative this series is still a treat irregardless

Bibliophile Princess chapter 1: Following a young noblewoman, Bibliophile Princess depicts her engagement to the a prince and the subsequent court intrigue which follows. The first chapter suffers from confusing panel layouts but as a whole I enjoyed it well enough.

The Engagement of Marielle Clarac chapter 1: The first chapter of Marielle Clarac is rather goofy, I enjoy comics about romance novelists in other worlds so this one was fun. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking but if you enjoy wacky isekai stories this might be to your liking.

By Geordi Demorest

 

Chie Shinkyu’s Nekobitashi: The Daily Life of Chie and Her Cats chapters 1-4: the first series Manga Planet rolled out Nekobitashi follows the author herself as she meets a new kitten. I enjoyed what I read and it’s quality comfort food reading. The character designs have a distinctness to them which separates the series from a lot of other josei manga. 

 

Baby Zoccha chapters 1 and 2: the opening chapters follow a mother cat and her newborn kittens as they just start out on their journey together. I liked the dynamic between the sibling cats and the mother cat’s struggles as she adjusts to the new kittens in her life.

 

Nuku Nuku Final I Love My Cat chapters 1 and 2: the opening chapters didn’t leave that much of an impression on me. I thought it was pleasant as far as fluff goes but that’s about it.

 

I Love My Cat chapters 1 and 2: I liked these chapters considerably they follow a woman who’s adjusting to living with her first cat. The narrative was more dramatic than many of the other launch titles. It’s quick reading if you want a more dramatized, realistic experience about owning cats.

 

Ryo Ikuemi’s There is a Limit to Cuteness chapters 1 and 2: another short chapter autobiographical manga like with Nekobitashi I enjoyed the scratchier, cartoonish art style.

 

Cat Melting Pot chapters 1 and 2: it was easy to identify with this series from my own experiences raising cats. It follows a woman with ten pet cats. I enjoyed how detailed and relatable the descriptions were and again enjoyed the cartoonish artwork. The chapters were short so it didn’t overstay it’s welcome. 

 

Keeping a Cat At The Age of Thirty chapters 1 and 2: a full colour 4 panel style manga. It was a rather stylish introduction. I read some of the later chapters in Japanese on Comip Pixiv it was nice to see an official English localization. This series really stuck out to me. I enjoyed it quite a bit. If you’re a fan of gorgeous watercolors then you will enjoy this.

Amid their licensing announcements last month, Seven Seas took a tweet to mention they have the English language rights to the two volume Kumiko Saiki’s Kageki Shojo!! The Curtain Rises  manga. A sequel is presently undergoing  serialization in Melody. Link to the official Seven Seas page for the series below:

https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/kageki-shoujo-the-curtain-rises/

With Melody magazine now publishing a digital edition since 2019, I thought I would take a moment to briefly mention a series which has caught my attention as I flip through the issues every 2 months. Secret Season 0 by Reiko Shimuzu follows the police as they solve horrifying crimes. It’s dark and often too realistic for my tastes in media but it makes a fascinating series to return to every so often for spine chilling read.

Link:

https://melody-web.com/sakuhin/?id=9

The official site for Hana to Yume magazine is chock full of neat tidbits like series currently running in the magazine, summaries, and trailers for the manga. If you’re a gaijin fan of Hana to Yume like me with little to no knowledge of the language it’s a handy tool with keeping the narratives running in the anthology organized in your head. There’s a lot of neat and useful info on it for mango fans!

Link:

https://www.hanayume.com/

Hello, and welcome to hopefully an ongoing article series where we explore Hana to Yume today we will be focusing on a magical journey through Hana to Yume 10/11 (2020) combined issue.

Yona of the Dawn ch. 191 had a lovely color page some interesting developments this chapter

Fruits Basket The Three Musketeers returns to co-align with the anime.

Love Me Before You Die chapter 49 is the usual deadpan comedy it has been. Fun times. Good start to the issue! Going to take a break for today as this month is a double issue so no need to hurry through it.

Furare Girl chapter 34- this was a wild experience not sure I’ve come across anything quite like this in shojo manga but such is Hana to Yume (I had fun reading it)

Skip-beat chapter 281- I had to refresh myself on what happened this chapter some rather fun moments between Ren and Kyoko

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts chapter 82- an “epic” chapter in the classical sense of the word good content

Collette Decides to Die chapter 98- in the “I really wish this had an official English localization” category this series ranks right up there with 7 Seeds for me. Fantastic as always.

Love Me Ponpoko chapter 18- a tanuki gag manga not exactly my favorite series but it has its funny moments

36000 Seconds in A Day chapter 12- that was a really fun read! Already have my copy of the first tankoban!

Namaiki Zakari chapter 114- wacky fun as always

Still This World is Beautiful chapter 142- in the “why the heck hasn’t this been officially localized” category this ranks pretty high up there

Ninkoi chapter 29- another excellent chapter from Julietta Suzuki hoping for a localization announcement for this one still from Viz. Fingers crossed.

 

And that’s the issue! Hopefully I offered some insight into the magazine that has produced many lovely series over the years today. Hope to do so some more in the future.

 

 

I often get asked by people why I write about Hana to Yume so much or at all. Hana to Yume is home to some of the most popular ground-breaking manga of modern times. The family of magazines has been around for several decades and has been home to such hits as Glass Mask, Fruits Basket, Yona of the Dawn, Skip-beat, Gakuen Alice, Vampire Knight, and well the list just goes on and on. It was  a huge part of my life since I was growing up even when I was unfamiliar with its name as an early teen. 

 

Over years and years my fascination with the label has grown more and more. It’s been a cornerstone of girls comics in Japan for a long time with incredible sales. My hope is to show people overseas just how monumental this magazine family is to manga. Mostly though this is just an excuse for me to gush about my favorite family of comics magazines and share the joy with others. That and my love of Sailor Moon and Harvest Moon. We must never forget those.