April Showers Bring May Flowers.

I’ve always found to be at at loss for words when writing a release post. Partly because before becoming a scanlator, as a rabid shoujo Manga fan, I would skip the release post rant or musings or self promotion and go straight to the download or reader links. So that mentality always made me think that nobody would really care about anything I’d have to say and never bothered to write something. My posts tended to be thank yous to the staff, apologies for taking forever or sometimes not even writing anything at all. But I don’t want to do that anymore. It kind of robs me of the joy of making a release post. I don’t want to just push it out mechanically. This type of post feels like an hommage to why my co-admin and I started this website in the first place. And that was to deliciously rant, express our thoughts and opinions on the plethora of Manga out there to suffice as some sort of guide for fans much like ourselves. Also… I spent HOURS working on each of these great chapters, and I’m so excited for you guys to read them.

It’s been a little hectic in our group lately, as everybody has been caught up in real life. For me, it was very frustrating having some of these chapters waiting for me to quality check for months but I didn’t have the motivation or time. I was finally able to dedicate my entire Sunday  (yesterday) and found myself rediscovering what I love about scanlation. Having the ability to push out great quality content of amazing stories is so fulfilling. I’m really thankful for knowing the people that make this possible for me. Not only are a lot of these Manga on my top fave series of all time, but I like to think that each series brings in something new, or at least something interesting to the table.

 Kitto Aishite: Click here to read or download.

First up, we have a chapter of Kitto Aishite. If you haven’t read this series, and you like pretty art, I really recommend it. It’s published in Petit Comic magazine which is our staff’s favourite Josei magazine. Well, maybe tied with Feel Young magazine but that’s goals (for the future). Kitto Aishite does have the usual plot device of the two attractive main characters who “happen” to start living together. But the female lead is a really interesting character. She is the “office beauty” but gravely misunderstood. You know when people misinterpret what you say or what you do and think the worst of you? Yeah, pretty much that is the problem in her life. The contrasting bubbly male lead to her cool and aloof personality make a really nice read. Okay, I admit it, I’m just a fan of gorgeous art.

 Hotaru no Hikari: Click here to read or download

Ah, where do I start with this one? Hotaru no Hikari is one of my favorite Josei series of all time. Some people might not be a fan of the art, but if they could take the time to actually read it, you will be met with a series full of wit, banter and pretty enlightening conversation. I started reading this series in a pretty sad time of my life, and I found myself relating and feeling good while reading this. There were plenty of instances where I had to put my tablet down and wipe tears off my eyes from LAUGHING SO HARD. But enough of that.  If you’ve been following this series for a while, you’ll be happy to know that there is a lot of surprising development in this chapter. I was blown away at how relatable Hotaru is and how enjoyable it is to follow her on her journey in finding herself and her love life. I love how hard working she is and how her intentions are always good, but shit ALWAYS happens. But it’s about taking how you handle and what you learn from these situations that is essential. (Update: I got permission from the lovely Arusia from J-SIS to upload the Hotaru chapters to the Shoujohearts reader! Follow the link above <3).

 Six Half: Click here to read or download

Our next release is a new chapter from the series Six Half. Written by Iketani. If you know that mangaka and read her works, you’d know that is enough to pick one of her series up LOL. Her stories lean to the more dramatic–but it does it well. Introducing characters that have real and raw emotions. Usually overly dramatic works have characters behave and react ….odd? Not realistic at all, just to further the drama and make misunderstandings and problems take longer to solve. Which trust me, can get pretty aggravating. Candy and I have read our fair share of dramatic manga so you can call us shoujo veterans. What we love about Iketani is how relatable the characters are. Iketani easily makes it in our top fave mangaka list. I recommend you check other Iketani works that are completed, such as Bitou Lollipop. Now, back to this chapter. I was really happy and excited about this development in the story. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say that I had a pretty dorky smile on my face as I read it. There may have been a shriek or two.

Now, onto our last release! Ladies and gentleman, I present to you Shoujohearts SECOND completed series (first was Hana o Mesihmase), Koisuru Nante! I’m pretty pleased that I picked up this series for scanlation. I had received one of my Petit Comic issues and I saw the first chapter of this series randomly. It didn’t look familiar and I quickly realized it was a new series. I thought the art was a little different and was curious on how the story would be. I quickly tried to bait my translators to pick it up and the lovely ladies at Whitelies Fansub were ecstatic to clean it! A huge hugeeee thanks to Stfusparks and Chaneslaughter for translating this! I was over the moon when I actually read it and fell in love with the story. I remember telling Phanzanu, our lovely typesetter for this series, to just use whatever fonts she wanted and she had the most fitting font choices. I think she really captured the feel of this series perfectly. I’m excited for you guys to read it! It’s only 3 chapters long and a must read if you like josei, megane-kuns with aloof personalities, and quirky hard working female lead.

As for my reaction while I read these two chapters… I could barely contain the adorable sugar from these two chapters. It’s not even like SHOUJO diabetes, but adorable and mature romance. Of course there’s cute moments, but it’s not nauseating, you know? Not that my guilty pleasure isn’t sugary shoujo trash but MOVING ON. I think Megane-kun male lead was a surprise on the third chapter. I couldn’t really read his expression (LOL TYPICAL MEGANE) but I think the dynamic between the two was really fun. I also think this 3 chapter length is perfect for the story and characters. It doesn’t leave me begging for more which is indicative how satisfied I am with how it wrapped the story up. I’ll definitely be looking forward to more works from this mangaka.

!!!!!Koisuru Nante: Read and download here.!!!!

 

Well, that about wraps it up on my release post. I’m not entirely sure if I’ll continue writing in this format, but we’ll see how it goes. Hopefully for the three of you that made it to this last paragraph don’t think it’s a waste of time. I do miss writing on this website with reviews but I haven’t really been reading manga on my own time. I had a huge K-drama phase so I might write about that but I’m trying to stay away from those since I’ll quickly lose myself. Anybody who has watched K-drama knows exactly what I’m talking about! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy our releases <3