One Shot: "Complete Story of Meg the Thief" ("Kaitou Magu no Ichibushijuu") by Nari Kusakawa

First of all I would like to thank Jade and Amrai for taking on the challenge of translating this one-shot.  This was probably the hardest one-shot we've ever taken on and I'm happy that we fought through it to get to a good result.  I'd also like to thank Noir Schist for her wonderful image editing and lettering. Oh!  And Ichi's miraculous redraws too!  Great work team!

And now onto the one-shot.  Not much to say here other than this is another wonderful one-shot from Nari Kusakawa and really like Ulric.  He's awesome! It's too bad this is a one-shot.  I would have liked to see this stretched out into a 1 volume series.  But, alas, I'll happily take this.


And now onto the link
Link to "The Complete Story of Mag the Thief":  (PDF)

Next up are the final two chapters of "Seirei Produce"!  The ending is quite satisfying.  Get out a Kleenex because you're going to tear up.

Shiro Lala is Here!

The Cover is sooooo cute!  It's from Akiduki Sorata's one-shot.  Anyhow...Shiro Lala is here!  We will be doing this in conjunction with the Kuro Lala one-shots.  This isn't all of the one-shots.  These are the ones that caught my eye and this list is in no particular order.  Here's what we have on deck.
Updated:  Based on you comments, what I'm eager to translate the most, and what we can get done when (one-shots that I will not be translating will not be able to be released immediately), some prioritization has been applied.  Thank you so much for you feedback :). It helped a lot.

• "Boku no Hitsugi Bansan wo" ("Dinner in my Coffin") by Kusakawa Nari (The title itself demands that do this one first. I can't resist a Snow Vampire and people old enough to drink wine.  Go adults!), 40-pages
• "Mahou Tsukai to Koi no Biyaku" ("The Magician and the Love Potion") by Toyota Yuu, 40-pages
• "Watashi Fukigenna Panya-san" （"The Sullen Baker and Me")by Hino Matsuri, 12-pages
• "Ginsekai no Shoumei" ("The Snowcapes Emblem") by Akiduki Sorata, 40-pages 
• "Sabaki no Mon" by Sakura Tsukuba -- 50-pages
• "Souai Metaphysica" Hayashi Mikase -- Loveliness, 40-pages
• "Wild Wing" by Kiiro Yumi, 70-pages
• "Hanayome Kashidashitachuu" by Tsujita Ririko, 16-pages
• "Taiyou no Yuki" by Nakamura Yukichi, 40-pages
• "Twinkle-poo Story" (So much WTF) by Nozaki Yuu, 40-pages
• "Akatsuki no Miko" by Kouno Akira -- 40-page
• "See you Again" by Ike Junko (very short bitter sweet story) - 16-pages

If there's something you want right away, let me know in a comment and we'll take it into consideration.

Halloween One-shot #2: "The Grim Transfer Students"

Here is our second Halloween one-shot.  I've been holding onto this one for about a year.  It came out just after Halloween last year, so I waited an entire year to put this out at the right time.  The title of this one-shot is "Kuro Tenkousei" or literally, "The Black Transfer Students". To my American ear, that title sounds very wrong and totally misleading, so I decided to use a synonym for black that captured what the story is truly about.  The word "grim" seemed to fit best, so "The Grim Transfer Students" it is.

I was originally going to post this to "Bakeneko's Lair" because it's not very shoujo-y and it's kinda freaky.  But I did release "The Doll Rebirth Workshop" on OS, so...I figured this was in line with that kind of freakiness and psychological drama.  Anyhow, the villain in this one-shot is bat-sh** insane.  I think that's what drew me to this one-shot.  It seemed very out of place in "The Hana to Yume" magazine.  Beyond that though, there is a nice underlying of friendship between the main male characters.  I really like the dark haired boy, Atori :). And now onto the links:


Links to "The Grim Transfer Students": (Zip) (PDF)

Some thoughts about this one-shot
I don't like adults either who think they know what's best for children who aren't their own.  My parents weren't the type that shielded me.  They felt it was important for me to experience life and to draw my own conclusions, so anyone touting the argument "it's for the children" is offensive to me and quite frankly, I don't understand those people.  Haha!  I know that sounds weird considering how constrained Omari's Sister is.  But it's more of a branding issue than censorship.  People come to OS with certain expectations and that's what we deliver.  Folks wanting other kinds of manga are free to find that content on other websites.  That is also why I set up Bakeneko's Lair as an offshoot for content that lies outside of what OS does.

As for Ayabe -- uh...I think she the scariest villain in all the OS releases.  I really don't lie her.  She hella creepy.

Up next...We will release the teaser preview of our newest series "Ore to Atashi no Kareshi" and to work on the last chapter of "The Scarecrow of Oz".   We'll see...I vowed to myself to do some housework this weekend and to dig out from under the mail in my office,

Halloween One-Shot #1: "In the Mirror of Death"

Here is our big Halloween one-shot!  It's "In the Mirror of Death" by Fujiwara Hiro, the same artist who draws/writes "Kaichou wa Maid-sama".  This feels very different that KWMS which was a pleasant surprise. Oh!  And this one-shot debuts our newest Omari's Sister translator!  Let us welcome Jade!  She did a wonderful job on her first project.  Haha!  It was rather brutal of me to give her a 72-page one-shot as an introduction to this group.  I'm such a bad kitty!  I would also like to thank Holanio for typesetting.  This gave me time to catch up on some other projects that needed some attention.

And now onto the links!

Links to "In the Mirror of Death": (Zip) (PDF)

Some thoughts on this one-shot:

The mid-30 pages are a bit awkward, but I think this part really makes the story the interesting.  I kinda want to see a few more one-shots with these four characters.  The idea of Miyako going at Ryuu really seems entertaining to me.

Next up is our second Halloween one-shot, "Kuro Tenkousei" ("The Grim Transfer Students") (note:  decided that "The Black Transfer Students" is too provocative and misleading, so I went with a synonym.)

Spooky One-Shots from the Past!

It's the haunting season and I like nothing more than supernatural and spooky stories for this time of the year. Here's a list with links to the spooky and ghostly one-shots we've translated in the past! (Click on the captions to go to the one-shot)

Shinobigoto

Furou Kyoudai Long Version and Short Version

The Devil Mansion's Teacher

Twelve o'Clock Bell Rings

The Scarecrow of Oz Chapter 2

Here's the second "The Scarecrow of Oz" one-shot.  It truly is a follow-up to the first one-shot and ties up the lose end with the Tin Man.  In March we will release "The Scarecrow of Oz" serialization.  The serialization will only be three chapters long and is currently running in "Hana to Yume" magazine.  The serialization covers the third witch who chose the beast.  (The little lion beasty is adorable!).

Links to "The Scarecrow of Oz II": (Zip) (PDF)

As of now, I don't know what's up next.  We have a few projects that are well on their way to completion, but I don't know which one is going to be completed first.  Also, I start jury duty tomorrow, so unless I get dismissed tomorrow, I'll be busy with real life for the next two weeks and we will probably only be able to put out one release over that time.

Ouran High School Host Club Lala 3 One-Shot Preview

It should be ready within the first week of February.

Christmas Themed One-Shot: "Mari and Santa"

Here is the first of the Christmas themed one-shots, "Mari and Santa". It's short but very sweet. Only in Japan is Santa handsome young man.

Links to "Mari and Santa": (Zip) (PDF)

The next Christmas themed one-shot will be released closer to Christmas Day.  It's a story with a roguish character.  It looks like fun :).

Next up are J+K and Magnolia!

One-shot Sequels!!!

W00t!  Well, color me happy!  Look what came with Hana to Yume Issue 24/2010!  A wonderful book with sequels to "The Scarecrow of Oz" and "Furou Kyoudai." *Hana to Akuma Spoilers Ahead*  Also in Hana to Yume issue 24 is the final chapter of "Hana to Akuma" which features (highlight white space to read) Hana and Vivi's wedding and off into the distant future -- half demon half human babies!!!  Unfortunately, Hana got old and died...but Vivi's happy happy with his kids.  Don't know what's going on with fandom, but I'm tempted to finish up the last three chapters... Update! It looks like translation of "Hana to Akuma" has resumed!  Hooray for Kokoro no Oasis!

Oh, and if you are wondering what the other two one-shots are, I don't know yet, but I'll find out and see if they are worth translating.

Anyhow, a bunch of unanticipated manga and vacations got thrown at me, so I have to re-prioritize and re-jigger the schedule for the next few months.  There's too much good stuff and not enough staff.  But, as a "manager" I cannot take on anymore staff...so I have re-jigger things.

Taking Suggestions for a Halloween One-shot

Update:  The special Halloween one-shot will be "Guardian Joker"
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I'd like to do a special story for Halloween, so send in your one-shot suggestions and I'll go digging through my bookshelves.  Also, you can start sending in suggestions for Christmas or Winter themed one-shots.