Now that I’ve crossed one series off the list, I thought I’d give an update to any of you fine folks who are reading the blog. This is gonna be long and self-indulgent, so don’t feel like you have to read it!
Kanojo de Ippai is now complete! Give it a download, read away, and let me know what you think!
Rose x Marie is still stuck. To my knowledge, Volume 3 has never been scanned. I thought that if it gathered enough interest, someone might go to the effort of scanning it, but it’s been two years since I put out Volume 2 and I haven’t heard any word of a scan. Unfortunately I don’t have the equipment, expertise, or time to do it myself. The odds of me or anyone else completing this series look pretty slim, to be honest!
Motori has been on hold for quite a long time too. I made the decision to work on Kanojo de Ippai exclusively once its end was in sight, since I got so much more feedback from it and its completion didn’t seem so far away.
The biggest hurdle to working on Motori is the workload. The chapters are short, but a lot of the pages require a really long time in Photoshop. I’ve certainly gotten better with it over the last couple years, but I don’t have the background in design or art that enables skilled Photoshop users to get the most out of the program. I’m a translator first and foremost.
I would’ve asked for help with it earlier but I was reluctant to do so based on past experience. I’ve worked with several groups in the past, and even though there were several people to split the workload, coordinating everything was very time-consuming as well. Also, people tend to get tired of the rigamarole of this endeavor pretty quickly, so you’re constantly trying to find new staff to address the burn-out. That’s why I’ve elected to do everything myself nowadays.
If someone would be willing to do the cleaning portion of Motori (that is, remove all of the Japanese text) then that would probably reduce my workload by about half, if not more. It’s all of the tedium and none of the fun, though – especially since Motori has so much text written over background elements. Is there anybody out there who’d agree to such a thing? Here’s Chapter 6 if you want to test your mettle!
If I can, I’d like to finish up to the end of Volume 1, at least, and then assess whether continuing it is feasible after that. Scans for all six volumes exist, but at least one of them has an issue where the bottoms of some of the pages got cut off. As fond as I am of the series, even I have to admit that there are some chunks of the story that don’t really go anywhere, and it ends kind of abruptly. If anyone else thinks they can do it, I won’t object to you taking it over.
Several people have requested another Manabe Joji series, but unless my schedule suddenly opens up, I don’t think I could commit to one in good faith. It’s taken this long to get Kanojo de Ippai finished, and that was only three volumes! Also, I think if I do another new series, I might want to explore something a little different. I’ve lost track of what’s interesting or current in the world of manga, but I’m sure there are some forgotten (and short) gems out there that are out of print and won’t ever get licensed. Who knows!
I’ll post another update if anything changes! Be well!
Ochimusha Translations 
You can’t go wrong with Saigado or Toshiki Yui. Have a look at their stuff if Manabe isn’t an option. Saigado’s non-doujinshi stuff tends to be just two volumes as well.
Take your time Ochimusha. We’ll wait patiently.
You’re already doing us a big favour with your work, and the important thing is that whatever you do, you enjoy it and don’t burn out.
do you want my 3rd vol of rose X marie or your taking a break now?
Any idea of making an comeback or have you retire? thanks
Im reading the oppai now, some wrong words but im happy none the less 😎
Where’s the donate button?
Sent from my LG G6
Hi Ochimusha, I just finished reading the entire Kanojo de Ippai series (in one sitting) and wanted to say thank you for your work! Really loved the quality and effort you put in, especially with some of the comedic references. I hope you are well and continue your amazing work at your own pace. I hope that with this website still being alive means you’re still kicking!