Fall 2010

As a child, Moritaka Mashiro dreamt of becoming a mangaka, just like his childhood hero and uncle, Tarou Kawaguchi, creator of a popular gag manga. But when tragedy strikes, he gives up on his dream and spends his middle school days studying, aiming to become a salaryman instead.

One day, his classmate Akito Takagi, the school’s top student and aspiring writer, notices the detailed drawings in Moritaka’s notebook. Seeing the vast potential of his artistic talent, Akito approaches Moritaka, proposing that they become mangaka together. After much convincing, Moritaka realizes that if he is able to create a popular manga series, he may be able to get the girl he has a crush on, Miho Azuki, to take part in the anime adaptation as a voice actor. Thus the pair begins creating manga under the pen name Muto Ashirogi, hoping to become the greatest mangaka in Japan, the likes of which no one has ever seen.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Upon arriving at the train station of death, an impure soul is granted a second chance at life against his will. Reincarnating into the body of Makoto Kobayashi, a 14-year-old boy who recently committed suicide, the soul is tasked to identify the boy’s greatest sin in life within a time limit of six months. Although it remains reluctant toward continuing life as Makoto, the soul soon begins to notice the complexities of people’s emotions and actions.Deconstructing the ideas of fractured families and suicide, Colorful explores the intricacies of the daily struggles humans face but are too abashed to confront.[Written by MAL Rewrite]

According to Tsutaya Online, the DVD of Gintama: Shinyaku Benizakura-hen will be released on December 15th. A new special will be bundled with the limited edition.

It’s the running gag of Ben Johnson episode where animation staff reuse the New Years footage; Yorozuya would sit around the kotatsu eating a bowl of tangerines. They discuss elaborate subjects, Shinpachi complains about reusing animation footage, and then Gin-chan always ending the gag with a pointless announcement.

For most people, wearing glasses is a necessity for clear sight, but for four young girls, their spectacles mean so much more. From a teenage girl wearing her glasses with pride and a top idol who uses hers to disguise herself as a regular person, to a couple whose bent frames bring them closer together, a good pair of glasses can not only open your eyes, but also open your heart.

As with both the Advanced Generation and Diamond & Pearl series before it, the Best Wishes! series begins with only Satoshi, headed off to the Isshu region, located far away from Kanto, Johto, Houen, and Sinnoh, with his Pikachu. After he meets up with the new trainer and rival Shooty and the region’s Professor Araragi, he gains traveling companions in Iris, a girl from a town known for its Dragon Pokémon, and Dent, Pokémon Connoisseur and the Grass Pokémon specialist of the three Sanyou City Gym Leaders.

Due to a sudden accident, twins Haruka and Sora Kasugano have lost both of their parents. Starting their lives anew, they return to their childhood home—living once again in the rural, quaint town like they did four years ago.

However, revisiting such a nostalgic place also means recalling all the memories the two of them made together, be it those that gave them blissful joy or those that made them suffer painful sorrow. Meeting both old acquaintances and new companions alike, the story of Haruka and Sora only gets more convoluted as their lives are slowly influenced by different acts of love, friendship, envy—and perhaps even lust.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]