#ribon rookies

[nanairo-ribon]

It’s time for a new issue of Ribon which means news for the October issue has been added to Ribon’s website.

1. Kasumi Yuuko will start a new series called Furuya-sensei wa Anzu-chan no Mono (another one of those weird titles to translate into English but basically “The Thing Between Furuya-sensei and Anzu-chan”) about a forbidden student teacher romance. The series will have a color page. I’m really excited about this one. I love Kasumi-sensei and it’s fun to see different kind of romance in Ribon. I think the last teacher/student romance was Chocolate Cosmos so it’s been awhile. I expect this to be a lot of fun but I’m slightly disappointed that this will probably be a short series (because it’s not getting the opening color pages) instead of a full length series.

2. This issue will also feature a new oneshot called Ookami-kun to Osaru-chan no Tomodachi Kankei (Wolf Boy and Monkey Girl’s Friendship) from Kanda China one of Ribon’s quickest rising stars. This will be her first story to be published in the main Ribon magazine.

3. Honey Lemon Soda will be featured on the cover and opening color pages.

4. This issue will come with a special fanbook for the band SEKAI NO OWARI

You can also download the new wallpaper from the cover of this month’s issue featuring Tsubasa from Tsubasa to Hotaru here.

[nanairo-ribon]

News for the next issue of Ribon Special Mint on sale August 22nd:

+ Mayu Sakai’s Kimi to Dake wa Koi ni Ochinai will have the cover.

+ The front color page will feature a new oneshot by Aya Segawa, no doubt to fill out the tankobon version of Koisuru Scarlet which ends it’s run in Ribon next month.

+ There will be a new special 41-page chapter of Hime-chan no Ribbon - that’s the third special chapter in the past two years. Could this mean another collected volume at some point? (I hope so!) The other issues of Ribon/Ribon Special with Hime-chan chapters sold really well so if you’re interested I would recommend not waiting too long to pick up a copy.

+ Chuubyou Gekihatsu Boy will continue with a 60-page chapter.

+ Buddy Go! will run a 32-page side story in this issue. Zekkyou Gakkyuu will also have a full chapter in this issue.

+ Ribon’s website originally made a mistake listing Boku no Ie ni Oide as a two-part special. But the chapter in the Vanilla issue wasn’t just a regular chapter either. It was a shorter 16-page chapter, and this will continue in the Mint issue. This is probably Ribon’s way of stretching out a 10th volume so they can continue to run the series a little longer.

+ Other headliners for this issue: Yuka Fujiwara, Mari Asabuki, and Ikeda Haruka.

+ Featured mangaka for this issue: Ebi Nagare, Kinoshita Hanoka, Yuu Nozomu, Sasaki Nao, Morino Nasupa, Kannazuki Nana, Otomezaka Kokoro, Aoi Mao, and Ueno Yume.

[nanairo-ribon]

Ribon’s furoku video for the next issue has announced the winners of Ribon’s “Rookie Battle” - these four oneshots will included in a special furoku book that will come with the August issue of Ribon on sale July 2nd. Readers voted for which stories they wanted to see from the original list of eight stories which you can see here.

The four yomikiri appearing in this furoku book are:

Kiyo-chan’s Dog by Kinoshita Honoka

Gorilla Love by Koishi Riku 

Blue Girl Next Door by Himekawa Eri

The Flying Train by Mazuda Yuna

I’m really happy with this group! All four are mangaka I’m rooting for. The only surprise for me was that Nasuno Mayuka’s story was not chosen. I really would have liked to seen her included.

[nanairo-ribon]

It seems Ribon has heard my telepathic begging for a rookie yomikiri furoku book. Shueisha has been including these regularly with issues of Betsuma and Margaret but it’s been a few years since we had one for Ribon. But the June issue announced that is finally going to change! Ribon is currently running a contest with eight oneshots by popular rookies in contention to be included in a 4-story furoku book that will come with the August issue. Readers will be choosing which four stories are included via a mail-in voting process. This is actually a pretty cool idea because it lets readers show support for the rookie artists they like and it also helps Ribon compare the popularity of their up-and-coming mangaka.

Readers can choose from:

Kohai will Help You With Your Troubles by Azuma Yuu

Gorilla Love by Koishi Riku

Mao-kun wo Sagase! (Let’s Find Mao-kun!) by Kanda China

Kiyo-chan’s Dog by Kinoshita Honoka

Your Dakimakura (Hugging Pillow) by Nasuno Mayuka

Blue Girl Next Door by Himekawa Eri

The Flying Train by Mazuda Yuna

The Devil’s Habit by Wataoka Yuniko

I really want to see Nasuno Mayuka, Koishi Riku, and Himekawa Eri’s stories get picked! And either Mazuda Yuna or Kinoshita Honoka for the fourth spot. No matter who gets chosen, this is a great group and I hope the contest is a success so that we can get more furoku books like this.

Side note: I was a little surprised to see Azuma Yuu and Kanada Sana included in this contest because they just made their debuts in the last issue of Ribon Special. This is a huge opportunity for them! It’s nice to see Ribon supporting them this much so early. On the flip side seeing Wataoka Yuniko in this group is also surprising because it seems like haven’t seen much from her since Happy Craft ended.

[nanairo-ribon]

Mazuda Yuna reminds me a lot of early Mayu Sakai. I think it’s a combination of her line work, her character’s eyes, and her dramatic themes. I want to do a 2016 version of my Ribon “rookies to look out for” post and she’s definitely on my list. Although I would like to see something new from her before then.

Margaret bookstore currently has her debut story Sekai wa Hitotsu Ja Nai available to read online for free here. I recommend checking it out. Especially if you’re a fan of Sakai-sensei’s work.