bl manga, mostly

First off...Um, WTF? animenfo lists Hikaru no Go as 光の碁. O_o

I like the latest song I've heard by Utada Hikaru, This Is Love. It's upbeat, catchy, and I love the way the background vocals play with the meaning of the song. Download here. Lyrics and translation here (note: there are some iffy parts in the translation).

I've discovered some new artists on yaoi_daily with art I love and stories that seem promising (or at least don't seem to suck):

Risky Crime by Sugahara Ryu is a one-shot that features very pretty art, vampires, and flashbacks of a really cute kid. XD Too bad the translation sucks big time. I wonder if the "summer milo" is a total mistranslation, like (and I know this is a stretch but I can only make a guess after all) そら見ろ。It's way too short, the story left me a bit disappointed. First part here, second part here.

Silence by Azuma Takamiya has the kind of character design I tend to fall in love with instantly. Pretty, narrow, detailed but not too willowy. The story, about sex between friends and the angsting that accompanies it, is pretty standard. But it's pretty. Latest part (with links to previous posts and downloads) here.

Kikagaku Ehon by Takaboshi Asako is a one-shot with yet more character design I adore. The story seems cute, but I think the English is throwing me off. *sighs* Last part (with links to previous posts and downloads) here.

The art of Glamorous Lips, a one-shot by Yanao Rock, reminds me of a particular PoT fanartist...eerily so. In any case, lovely art, cute character designs, fun clothing (the story involves a model and a personal stylist assistant). First part here.

I took a look at the first half of Aimai na Kankei by Masara Minase, and it was pretty good. It didn't catch me, but at least it didn't repel me like a lot of her other one-shots. Wanting to see what else was out there by her, I found and skimmed the two scanlated chapters of Gokujou no Koibito, and damn I really don't care for it. The characters? No. The situation? No. The sex? Definitey NO (probably because I don't care for the characters or the situation). *sighs*

Mangetsu Monogatari by Nakamura Shungiku is currently also being posted, but I found out that the scanlators have direct downloads of the entire thing. It's a fun mix of crack and seriousness, though it doesn't quite gel together for me I enjoyed reading it. I love the idea of Kaguya-hime being a crass swindling guy and his unlikely friendship with a very uptight courtier.

starchanchan has posted the AkiHika doujinshi Infection by one of my favorite circles Katayoku no Tenshi at hikago_djs in seven parts. *_* So pretty! I love the mix of seriousness and humor that she is so good at. I need to get my butt moving and mail order her new stuff, including this one. XD

more bl manga!

Instead of doing something remotely productive, and in an attempt to fight off the crazy urge to reread Mirage, I was wandering about LJ including more exploration of yaoi_daily:

Does anyone have scanlations of Seiryou's Scariest Tales by Tatsukawa Kazuto? I was caught by the poster's note in her first post, referring to a "delightfully psychopathic seme in the primary story and his hapless uke. They only confirm my definite belief that the only thing scarier than being hated by a psychopath is being truly loved by one." And the art is pretty! There's 5 and a half chapters scanlated (though apparently not all on the "psychopathic seme and his hapless uke," judging from the "primary story" description) and I'd love to not have to wait day by day. And IRC and I are not on good terms. :p

Akuma no himitsu by Takanaga Hinako is an adorable one-shot about a priest, an incubus, and the incubus's brother. It's pretty pointless, but I liked it. XD Parts 1, 2 and 3 of 3. There's apparently another one-shot featuring the characters which I hope gets posted soon! ^^

Situation by Kawai Toko has apparently been scanlated by toko_kawai, and the first part has been posted. This is, if I'm not mistaken, part of the Bondz volume and is a sweet story. Too bad the translation kind of pissed me off (even though most of it is good...maybe that's why it pissed me off?). What is the logic of not translating phrases like "ano?" -_- I think it reminds me too much of fangirl Japanese in fanfics and the throwing in of seemingly random Japanese phrases....but these people should know better.

A poster pissed me off by offering what I think was a TOTALLY UNNECESSARY spoiier instead of providing a simple summary of the current post (it's raw) and letting people find out for themselves when she does post that part. GAR.

I suppose I should give up on the random LJ surfing and just resign myself to reading. But I'll read Fujimi, not Mirage. I actually spent a good part of my free time last night and the night before reading the Shikoku arc and chortling at the dialogue. Especially the stuff between Naoe and Takaya. I'm sorry, but being torn between the desire to fangirl squee at the angst and obsession and to laugh till I die (at the angst and obsession) is just killing me. As is fighting the urge to randomly translate passages. :P