MICHELLE: It’s that time of year again! I’m very interested in the conclusion of Otherworld Barbara as well as I Hear the Sunspot and She and Her Cat, but I am simply unable to pass up my annual chance to squee about Kaze Hikaru. I agree with AshLynx, who expressed a wish that VIZ would start making the annual release a 2-in-1 volume. Otherwise we won’t catch up to where Japan is now until I’m retired!
SEAN: I can’t break with the yearly tradition. It’s definitely Kaze Hikaru as my pick. My goal is for it to sell well enough that we might see it… dare I hope… TWICE a year!
ANNA: Kaze Hikaru all the way for me as well. I love that series!
KATE: Add my name to the chorus of folks recommending Kaze Hikaru. I’m glad VIZ continues to publish new installments, but second Michelle’s request for a slightly faster release schedule. The East Coast will be underwater before we get the final volume here in the US!
ASH: Despite its slow release schedule, I’ve still somehow managed to fall behind with Kaze Hikaru. And so while I do plan on reading it because I do like the series, my pick this week (perhaps surprisingly) actually goes to Twinkle Stars. Although the series is a little trope-worn in places, I found the first two omnibuses to be both compelling and emotionally resonant.
AshLynx says
July 31, 2017 at 11:23 pmI believe Kaze Hikaru is currently longer than Skip Beat is in Japan, and for a shojo, Skip Beat is already pretty long. I kind of just wish I knew what was up with the US release, it went from ok to molasses, but I’m guessing they need to do one vol a year to keep the license or something perhaps? It would explain the long wait between volumes on other series (like Tegami Bachi or Afterschool Charisma).
Speaking of long delays though, I wonder if Kodansha will ever finish Animal Land (it has 3 volumes left! They could even do an omnibus and I wouldn’t care! But they keep delaying it a few months every time its release comes up. I remember when I talked to a guy at their Otakon booth once, he mentioned how I was one of the three people who bought that series.