Arina Tanemura Otaku Week: Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross

In Japan, Gentlemen’s Alliance Cross (紳士同盟†; Shinshi Doumei Kurosu) was affectionately referred to as ShinKuro, which I adopted immediately as both the original and translated titles were both tiring. It’s fitting, though, for a series that spans 11 volumes and has something along the lines of 30-40 characters.

Haine is a former delinquent who was given to the Otomiya family in return for a business loan to save the Kamiya family from bankruptcy. She ends up going to the prestigious Imperial Academy to chase after Shizumasa Togu, a boy she’s been in love with since they were children, only for him to treat her coldly and refuse any contact with her whatsoever. Haine is upset but the blow is softened just a tad when she walks in on Shizumasa and his lover – who happens to be another guy.

Arina Tanemura Otaku Week: Fullmoon o Sagashite

Fullmoon (満月をさがして; Fullmoon o sagashite) is the magical alter ego of Mitsuki, a girl with throat cancer whose only dream is to become a singer. Forbidden to have anything to do with music by her domineering grandmother, she submits a demo to a record company’s talent contest and wins a spot – only to be locked up by said grandmother and have a pair of shinigami come through the wall to take her soul.

This was actually the first manga I ever read in English by Arina Tanemura, which is why I thought it best to start off the week.

Arina Tanemura Otaku Week: Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne

I knew of Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne (神風怪盗ジャンヌ; Kamikaze Phantom Thief Jeanne) before I’d ever really read any of it simply because I saw a few chapters in Ribon. Oddly, Viz (who holds the rights to every other Tanemura series) didn’t have the rights to it and it was published by CMX, making it a bit harder to find. But we have ways, don’t we?

Jeanne has one of the oddest premises for a manga ever: Maron Kusakabe is the reincarnation of Jeanne D’Arc, able to seal off the demons that are hidden inside beautiful paintings.

Matsuri Akino Otaku Week: Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo

Pet Shop of Horrors: Tokyo (新ペットショップオブホーラズ; Shin (New) Pet Shop of Horrors) picks up a little after the first series with D opening a shop in a Neo Chinatown located in the less-than-reputable Kabukicho area. Sketchy characters, pets that aren’t always what they seem and enough sweets to kill a flock of hummingbirds…the only thing missing is Q-chan. And Leon. But it wouldn’t be a series without someone for D to torment and this time around it’s Woo-Fei Rau, the suspicious, power-hungry manager of the Neo Chinatown building.

Matsuri Akino Otaku Week: Genju no Seiza

Unlike the other series readily available domestically, Genju no Seiza (幻獣の星座; The Mythical Beast’s Constellation) is a a little of a departure for Akino-sensei because it is meant to be a single story with a beginning and end rather than the episodic nature of both Pet Shop and Kamen Tantei.