Thursday, October 04, 2007
MANGA CORNER: BOKU TO KANOJO NO XXX [YOUR AND MY SECRET]
So far, American readers have seen only the first volume of the body-swapping comedy Boku to kanojo no XXX, published by ADV three years ago under the title Your and My Secret* as part of the throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks strategy they were following at the time. When they retrenched they abandoned the series, to the disappointment of a lot of readers, including me. More recently Tokyopop picked up the license, but they haven't released anything yet.
I recently read the second and third volumes of Boku to kanojo no XXX, which I'd bought before Tokyopop announced it was picking up the series. Those American readers who have been waiting eagerly for the continuation of the series may be taken aback when volume three comes out. The raunchy humor which was a feature of the first volume, and which distinguished it from other guy-in-girl's-body comedies, is absent from the third volume. By the end of that volume, the series has become virtually a shoujo romantic comedy revolving around the bizarre love quadrangle of Akira, Momoi, Senbongi, and Shiina, with Akira being less freaked out by his best friend hitting on him than by his own response. Which is not to say that volume three isn't enjoyable; it's just enjoyable in a different way from the first volume. I've ordered the fourth and most recent volume from Sanseidoh; we shall see how things develop.
I realized a few days ago that while my Japanese-language manga posts have provided the information needed to order the manga online or from a Japanese language bookstore, they've been less helpful to those trying to find them on the shelves of a Japanese bookstore. In most Japanese bookstores I've been to, the manga are sorted neither by title nor by author, but by the line under which they are published, which is determined by the magazine in which they originally appeared. This may seem strange, but for Japanese readers it makes sense: not only does each magazine have its own distinct flavor, but a Japanese reader would know in which magazine a given manga appeared. For Americans trying to navigate a Japanese bookstore's manga section, though, this system isn't so useful. Boku to kanojo no XXX is in the "Blade Comics" line. You can recognize this line by its logo, which appears on the top of the spine and consists of the words "Blade Comics" (in English) under a sort of irregular upside-down triangle shape.
For those who do have to order it, the publisher is Mag Garden, the cost is 552 yen for volumes two and three and a little more for the fourth, and the ISBNs are
vol. 2: 4-86127-046-4
vol. 3: 4-86127-193-2
vol. 4: 4-86127-357-9
*Although "boku to kanojo no XXX" would translate as "my and her XXX," the "official" English translation, as used by the Japanese publisher (though it appears only on the copyright page), is "Your & My Secret X X X," so ADV wasn't just being arbitrary when they chose the English title. Also, the official way of pronouncing the XXX part of the title is "peke mittsu," where "peke" means "no good" or "failure" and "mittsu" means "three."
So far, American readers have seen only the first volume of the body-swapping comedy Boku to kanojo no XXX, published by ADV three years ago under the title Your and My Secret* as part of the throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-if-it-sticks strategy they were following at the time. When they retrenched they abandoned the series, to the disappointment of a lot of readers, including me. More recently Tokyopop picked up the license, but they haven't released anything yet.
I recently read the second and third volumes of Boku to kanojo no XXX, which I'd bought before Tokyopop announced it was picking up the series. Those American readers who have been waiting eagerly for the continuation of the series may be taken aback when volume three comes out. The raunchy humor which was a feature of the first volume, and which distinguished it from other guy-in-girl's-body comedies, is absent from the third volume. By the end of that volume, the series has become virtually a shoujo romantic comedy revolving around the bizarre love quadrangle of Akira, Momoi, Senbongi, and Shiina, with Akira being less freaked out by his best friend hitting on him than by his own response. Which is not to say that volume three isn't enjoyable; it's just enjoyable in a different way from the first volume. I've ordered the fourth and most recent volume from Sanseidoh; we shall see how things develop.
I realized a few days ago that while my Japanese-language manga posts have provided the information needed to order the manga online or from a Japanese language bookstore, they've been less helpful to those trying to find them on the shelves of a Japanese bookstore. In most Japanese bookstores I've been to, the manga are sorted neither by title nor by author, but by the line under which they are published, which is determined by the magazine in which they originally appeared. This may seem strange, but for Japanese readers it makes sense: not only does each magazine have its own distinct flavor, but a Japanese reader would know in which magazine a given manga appeared. For Americans trying to navigate a Japanese bookstore's manga section, though, this system isn't so useful. Boku to kanojo no XXX is in the "Blade Comics" line. You can recognize this line by its logo, which appears on the top of the spine and consists of the words "Blade Comics" (in English) under a sort of irregular upside-down triangle shape.
For those who do have to order it, the publisher is Mag Garden, the cost is 552 yen for volumes two and three and a little more for the fourth, and the ISBNs are
vol. 2: 4-86127-046-4
vol. 3: 4-86127-193-2
vol. 4: 4-86127-357-9
*Although "boku to kanojo no XXX" would translate as "my and her XXX," the "official" English translation, as used by the Japanese publisher (though it appears only on the copyright page), is "Your & My Secret X X X," so ADV wasn't just being arbitrary when they chose the English title. Also, the official way of pronouncing the XXX part of the title is "peke mittsu," where "peke" means "no good" or "failure" and "mittsu" means "three."
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