Quick post. Hakushaku to Yousei is about to enter the final arc with the next vol (to be released Mar 30). The afterword a couple vols ago did mention the end was in sight... ^^;

( novel blurb with some developments from later in the series )

April's releases are looking good. HakuYou, Sugar Apple, and Head Princess. Too bad no Silvery Knights this time. ^^;

Do *not* look at/read the Another (novel; I don't think there's an anime entry) Wiki if you don't want to get spoiled. >.> I was looking for info on one of the characters (Takabayashi's given name if it was ever mentioned) and couldn't avoid running into a total spoiler as a result. That said, I find it a bit sad that the only time I'm tempted to read the novel is after watching an episode, and even then, I think it's mostly because I'm still waiting for my books to arrive. ^^;

( curiosity after ep 6 )

While I now know something about things, I'm still quite in the dark about pretty much everything else, so it'll be interesting to see how the rest of the story plays out and how the info is revealed. (I haven't read much beyond what I ended up seeing in the Wiki.) Likewise, I haven't decided if I want to read the rest of the book (and/or read ahead) or if I want to see how things play out in the anime.

And what I remember reading in the book that wasn't mentioned / might not be as clear in the anime. (Up to Kouichi going to the doll shop/museum)

( not much really )

And a question I had for people who watched the subbed version of ep 6.

( snip )

So, Shadow was bad and found a copy of the novel online. ^^; From what I've read so far... I'm still not sure I want to buy it as I'm not sure I'm actually enjoying reading it?? It's a bit weird. As I mentioned before, it's not too difficult to read, so in that sense it's not all that bad. The good thing about the novel is that there's much more detail and things are more fully developed (from what I've read), so things make more sense overall. There were some things I didn't really understand or had questions about in the anime that became non-questions when reading. As it is, I've only managed to read up to ~the end of ep 1 which is actually a decent amount; it's until pg 85. ^^;

( little tidbits of info from the novel not (yet?) in the anime )

As it is, I'm not sure if I'll keep up with the novel tidbits per ep or if I'll give up on reading the story. It's one thing if I enjoyed reading it but... I get a really weird feeling of nothingness when I read this one. O_o

I've been sitting on this post for several days with the intention of adding more, but... >.> It's a summary/translation mix of things up to pg 47 of the book. I should note that the imgs here are from scans of the novel that were posted to the 'net a long time ago, and I have no idea who to accredit for them. I didn't feel like digging out my copy of the book and scanning it, but if anyone objects to the use of the book scans, I can always do so. (I know. Bad Shadow, bad. Mustn't be so lazy.) ^^;

Stuff in italics is direct translation while the rest is summarised. Enjoy.

( clicky )

*headdesk* Finally got around to watching ep 5 and once again I'm sorely tempted to read the novel(s). Whereupon the the question becomes do I buy the original novel, the bunko release (2 vols), the LN's when they're released next month (also 2 vols; same price as the bunko release), or...? The problem is that I'm just not sure I'd actually read it/them. I read the previews that're available on Amazon as well as at Kadokawa's site, and it *seems* interesting and wasn't too difficult to read (easier than some of the LNs I read), but... I have one of Ayatsuji Yukito's other novels (the first he ever wrote) and never actually sat down and read it. (I tried recently. It was slow going getting through several pages and took more effort than I wanted to put in at the time.) Will have to think about it a bit more. >.>

And on the off-chance anyone reads Shinrei Tantei Yagumo, apparently a new novel will be released at the end of March. Looks like it'll be the first thing to be released for it in 2.5 years. ^^;

Why not? I'm no longer following the series, and I have to admit, I'm not sure I'm interested in knowing how it ends(/ended), but... ^^; I noticed this title when checking Ranobe no Mori and there was a bit of discussion about it in the Kadokawa Beans Bunko thread on 2ch:

彩雲国秘抄　骸骨を乞う　（仮）

雪乃　紗衣／著

出版社名 ： 角川グループパブリッシング
発売予定日 ： 2012年3月26日
予約締切日 ： 2012年3月8日
予定税込価格 ： 1,680円

Saiunkoku Hishou Gaikotsu wo Kou (Saiunkoku Secret Scripts - Ask a Skeleton (tentative title))
Yukino Sai
Publisher: Kadokawa Group Publishing
Release Date: Mar 26, 2012
Pre-order by: Mar 8, 2012
Expected Cost with tax: Y1680

From the info on e-hon (they're accepting pre-orders; nothing on bk1 or Amazon as yet), the book is a short story collection. Comments on 2ch are that it might be a hard-cover book since the pricing doesn't fit with a bunko release. (Speculation is that the planned release for the title will be hard cover -> Beans bunko (with illustrations) -> regular bunko release.)

It's been so long since I've posted actual content, I'm not sure I know what or how to write anymore... ^^; Actually, when it comes to HakuYou, if I'm not mistaken, the next vol that hasn't really been covered either by summaries or through point-form description in the timeline would be v 11 (花嫁修業は薔薇迷宮で / Hanayome Shuugyou wa Bara Meikyuu de) Bridal Training in the Rose Maze.

( Very little about v11 )

Otherwise, I recently started following the thread on shoujo light novel sales rankings and came across the following info for (some) Jan releases.

( sales rankings and Sugar Apple Fairy Tale )

This entry was originally posted at http://shadow.dreamwidth.org/42765.html.  Feel free to comment there if you prefer.   comments on DW.

Eep! It's already 2012! Where does time go these days?! O_O;; Hope everyone had a safe and happy new year. Wishing you all the very best in the year to come and beyond. ^_^

I haven't decided yet if I want to scan snippets from the latest Cobalt mags like I have with The Beans since they introduce new series differently there. There's one series on that side that I've taken a bit of an interest in thanks to a manga serialisation that's currently running in there, but... >.> It's pretty wordy, and I don't know if the series is actually getting a magazine run or if it's a straight to tankoubon title. I need to do some more hunting around. ^^;

Decided to poke around Seike Mimori's and Shibata Isuzu's blogs for any info about Migawari Hakushaku and found out that novel V1 is getting released by Tsubasa Bunko - Kadokawa Publishing Group's children's books division. Both blogs are saying that there'll probably be some adjustments to the story to meet the lower age/reading ability (more hiragana and maybe explanations, too?). I'll have to consider if I want to try picking up a copy and seeing how it is. I've never picked up a title by Tsubasa (the division was created in 2009 to introduce best sellers and other major works to children/youths).

Anyhow, today is an odd mix of scans primarily from The Beans. I've scanlated some mini-manga that ran in the mags for some new(er) titles. Sugar Apple Fairy Tale seems to be getting pushed pretty heavily by the magazine, so I'm a bit curious to try that one out (haven't gotten hold of any volumes yet). ^^;

( 首の姫と首なし騎士 )

( Sugar Apple Fairy Tale )

( 花は桜よりも華のごとく )

( 恋よりもおだやかに見つめて - spoilers for latest story development )

Continuing on with the scans, today's all Migawari Hakushaku. I was going to add some others but there are way too many images with this one. Unfortunately not much in the way of captions, and apparently I needed to do manga v3 and 4 as well. I didn't realise I was that behind on that front. As it is, V4 seems to have gone for a walk somewhere, so it might take a bit of hunting before they show up. ^^;;

( Secret Notes of Love )

( White Rose Prince )

( The Flipped Honeymoon )

( misc imgs from The Beans and manga V5 )

I was originally planning on scanning the GH novels too, but... they'd only be cover scans since there are no images in the novels, so I wasn't sure there was really any point to it. Otherwise, more scans from HakuYou to come tomorrow probably. The latest volume arrived today, so I've been reading the main story in it. (The other two SSs were previously published in Cobalt magazine.) ^^;

Oh, yeah. Almost forgot to mention that the latest volumes for Migawari (novel and manga) should be coming out in February. Can't wait to see how things go next. ^o^