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I haven't mentioned the peregrine falcon nesting in a pine outside my office window because the nest is on the back side of the tree and so hard to see and report on. Right now I'm watching mother and an fledging tearing at a catch on a branch right at eye level. Mother is poised in the breeze, fledgeling awkwardly balanced even when the branch is still. We'll see how long they stay close.
Some recently discovered and enjoyed manga. For elastic definitions of "recent," anyway:
My Girl by Mizu Sahara and Usagi Drop by Yumi Unita: Two are different takes on the same premise: single man in his 20s finds himself suddenly taking care of a five-year-old girl. Like Yotsuba&!, also the same premise, they're tasty treats; unlike Yotsuba&!, which is a shounen (aimed at teen boys) comedy, these are dramas aimed at seinen (young men) and josei (young women) audiences, respectively. In My Girl, the girl is a daughter he didn't know he had by an ex-girlfriend he's been pining for for six years, and the story focuses on his emotional entanglements. In Usagi Drop, she's a previously unknown half-aunt by his just-deceased grandfather, whom nobody else wanted to take in; perhaps not surprising for josei, the focus is more on the details of raising a child as a single parent, including juggling job and parenting. A handful chapters each are available in scans.
(For a shoujo take on the premise, there is of course Aishiteruze Baby, which plays it for the melodrama; I can't exactly recommend it. And then there's some truly awful variations -- Aiko Desho! in particular is one to stay away from. Mizu Sahara, btw, is best known in the States for her manga adaptation of Voices of a Distant Star plus some licensed yaoi titles under another name.)
Tramps Like Us aka Kimi wa Pet by Yayoi Ogawa: Why the licensed title was changed from "You're My Pet," I do not understand. Not that the licensed title is bad, but the original is more accurate: a career woman finds a younger man on the street and takes him on the condition that he be her pet. He plays the role well, too, with the right amount of obedience and playful willfulness of a pet, when he's not working as a dancer. Though of course enter romantic tension, and a boyfriend, and other complications, everyone's just a bit screwed up, if not outright damaged, and you've got a tasty story. Several volumes published in English -- I've some catching up to do.
Andarshan Hanayome (warning: the romaji comes in many variations) aka Bride of Andarshan by Amekawa & Kazato: The bastard half-brother of the king of a vaguely western-medieval kingdom wins a battle to protect a province from a neighboring empire's encroachment, in reward for which as part of sealing a peace treaty that gives away said province, he is being married to a younger imperial princess -- "younger" as in she's the sixth of the emperor's daughters and she's ten years old. Oh, and the half-prince has been nursing a several years' infatuation with his half-brother's wife, the queen. Being manga, this could be really skeevy -- however, it's shoujo, which means lolicon is unlikely (though not impossible). Although hardly anything has been scanned yet, so far it looks like it's taking on the awkward dynamics of forging an arranged marriage, complicated by the ages of the couple being 20 and 10 years old. I reserve the right to declare skeeviness in future installments, especially if we don't get a time-skip. Two chapters available in scans.
Hyakkiyakou Shou aka Selected Pandemonium by Ichiko Ima: Not a recent discovery -- I've been following it since![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
coffeeandink mentioned it, um, over a year ago. Supernatural horror of the quietly suspenseful (rather than gory) kind, with all the creepies being from Japanese folklore. Despite having a teenaged boy as a protagonist (with a strong spirit sense), it's actually a josei series, which means it has that sketchy pen-and-ink style (with minimal screen-tones) I'm fond of. I also like how, though Our Hero is not actually strong himself but instead is defended by spirit allies of dubious reliability. I'm hoping someone like Del Rey will license this, as it feels right up their alley. A couple volumes readily available in scans.
---L.
Some recently discovered and enjoyed manga. For elastic definitions of "recent," anyway:
My Girl by Mizu Sahara and Usagi Drop by Yumi Unita: Two are different takes on the same premise: single man in his 20s finds himself suddenly taking care of a five-year-old girl. Like Yotsuba&!, also the same premise, they're tasty treats; unlike Yotsuba&!, which is a shounen (aimed at teen boys) comedy, these are dramas aimed at seinen (young men) and josei (young women) audiences, respectively. In My Girl, the girl is a daughter he didn't know he had by an ex-girlfriend he's been pining for for six years, and the story focuses on his emotional entanglements. In Usagi Drop, she's a previously unknown half-aunt by his just-deceased grandfather, whom nobody else wanted to take in; perhaps not surprising for josei, the focus is more on the details of raising a child as a single parent, including juggling job and parenting. A handful chapters each are available in scans.
(For a shoujo take on the premise, there is of course Aishiteruze Baby, which plays it for the melodrama; I can't exactly recommend it. And then there's some truly awful variations -- Aiko Desho! in particular is one to stay away from. Mizu Sahara, btw, is best known in the States for her manga adaptation of Voices of a Distant Star plus some licensed yaoi titles under another name.)
Tramps Like Us aka Kimi wa Pet by Yayoi Ogawa: Why the licensed title was changed from "You're My Pet," I do not understand. Not that the licensed title is bad, but the original is more accurate: a career woman finds a younger man on the street and takes him on the condition that he be her pet. He plays the role well, too, with the right amount of obedience and playful willfulness of a pet, when he's not working as a dancer. Though of course enter romantic tension, and a boyfriend, and other complications, everyone's just a bit screwed up, if not outright damaged, and you've got a tasty story. Several volumes published in English -- I've some catching up to do.
Andarshan Hanayome (warning: the romaji comes in many variations) aka Bride of Andarshan by Amekawa & Kazato: The bastard half-brother of the king of a vaguely western-medieval kingdom wins a battle to protect a province from a neighboring empire's encroachment, in reward for which as part of sealing a peace treaty that gives away said province, he is being married to a younger imperial princess -- "younger" as in she's the sixth of the emperor's daughters and she's ten years old. Oh, and the half-prince has been nursing a several years' infatuation with his half-brother's wife, the queen. Being manga, this could be really skeevy -- however, it's shoujo, which means lolicon is unlikely (though not impossible). Although hardly anything has been scanned yet, so far it looks like it's taking on the awkward dynamics of forging an arranged marriage, complicated by the ages of the couple being 20 and 10 years old. I reserve the right to declare skeeviness in future installments, especially if we don't get a time-skip. Two chapters available in scans.
Hyakkiyakou Shou aka Selected Pandemonium by Ichiko Ima: Not a recent discovery -- I've been following it since
coffeeandink mentioned it, um, over a year ago. Supernatural horror of the quietly suspenseful (rather than gory) kind, with all the creepies being from Japanese folklore. Despite having a teenaged boy as a protagonist (with a strong spirit sense), it's actually a josei series, which means it has that sketchy pen-and-ink style (with minimal screen-tones) I'm fond of. I also like how, though Our Hero is not actually strong himself but instead is defended by spirit allies of dubious reliability. I'm hoping someone like Del Rey will license this, as it feels right up their alley. A couple volumes readily available in scans.---L.