Our Upcoming Project

Among older yuri fans, there is a franchise that is well known and fondly remembered. The anime versions of this franchise, a 6-episode OVA and 26-episode TV series, were some of the earliest anime to contain strong and intentional yuri themes, as opposed to the willful self-delusion of "subtext" which was the order of the day. (To put its age in perspective, the TV series was apparently the very first anime TV series of all to be released on DVD in Region 1.) It was among my first anime purchases, a great show that I continue to cherish as one of my most important early experiences in both yuri and anime in general.

However, there is a mysterious misfortune attached to this franchise, one that has endured down through the years even to this day. The original version of this work, the manga, is a phantasm which has remained all but completely unknown to the West. The Wikipedia article barely mentions it, TVTropes and the ANN Encyclopedia don't even register its existence, and - as far as anyone knows - beyond a few tantalizing and perennially reposted images of the ending, it is simply not to be found on the internet. It is an old manga now, difficult to obtain, and it would seem that without being sure of what they were getting, no one has been crazy enough to go to the trouble.

That is, no one until now. Obtaining and scanlating this manga has long been a secret dream of mine. At last, after a nontrivial amount of money and effort, my dream of bringing it into the light is finally underway. Zefiberyl Translations is delighted to announce our "new" project:

Battle Athletes Daiundoukai.

That's right. We're taking you all the way back to 1996.

The characters of Battle Athletes are old and dear friends to me, so I was extremely interested to see the treatment the manga gave them. Having finally had a chance to look at it, I can say that I'm extremely pleased with it. On the whole, it's a superior version of the story that combines some of the best features (and omits some of the worst features) of the OVA and TV versions, along with plenty of its own unique elements and attractive artwork. Besides the canonical and mutual main couple resolution, there is also a second canonical pairing at the end, a couple that I never would've expected to actually get a happy ending together.

Another interesting difference is that later on in the manga, there's quite a bit of martial arts/fighting action. Judo and Kickboxing are some of the final qualifying events, and in true sports manga fashion, our heroine Akari has to undergo some intensive training to be able to stand up to her opponents.

Shoryukens? Yeah, we've got those.

At four full volumes, this is quite an ambitious and long-term project for us to undertake.  Even so, we're hoping to begin bringing it to you soon. Translation should not be too difficult; the kanji all have furigana, and no complicated terminology is in use. One problem is that the copies I received, while serviceable, are showing their age somewhat, especially around the outer page edges. Here you can see an example, before and after scanner magic. (The new scanner I bought for the purpose proved to be a very good investment.)

The content's not important, pay no attention...

Zefiris assures me that further cleaning should be able to fix these issues up tolerably. She's hard at work in both areas at the moment, so have no fear. (She has a criticism that it "needs more Bernkastel", but that particular criticism of hers is liberally applied to all Bernkastel-free media...) She also states, in rather the same vein, "I look forward to people claiming that it turns het. Their whining when the yuri shows up will be so delicious, even Bernkastel would approve."

Since, as I said earlier, raws of this manga don't seem to currently exist on the internet, our intention is to also make the raw versions of each release available as we go along.

Well then, please look forward to our first release!

Kimi(hime) no Tamenara Shineru

Well, this hit us as quite a surprise. We were actually working on getting some chapters on this manga done this month - in a new resolution, too - but it's licensed.

By JManga no less.

Well, it is in more capable (and hopefully faster!) hands now, so consider it dropped here, and please consider getting it on JManga instead if you liked it, once they release it.

This was the last project we were doing, so we have nothing on our plate now and don't really know what to do next, if anything. Maybe we'll put out a one-shot or two. We honestly don't know yet.

Take care, and thanks for following this little blog.

~Zefiris

We're not dead. We've merely vanished from your world.

Thanks to the many people who've inquired anxiously as to our situation, and forgive us for not answering sooner. A variety of issues have prevented us from moving forward.

One of the most important is, Zefiris is no longer interested in continuing with Choir! beyond the next three chapters (which, as I've hinted before, contain some truly excellent yuri). After that point, there is an upswing in the amount of fanservice/nudity - particularly of pseudo-lolis Mayuko and Shirayuki - that she finds both unpalatable and an unacceptable personal risk. Zefiris lives in Germany, and Germany takes an extremely dim legal view of trafficking in what they might consider pornographic depictions of underage characters. She does not wish to be prosecuted for this, and I certainly can't blame her.

As for me, let's just say I've been having technology issues. Both my car and my computer have been consuming my attention for the past several months. It's rather amazing how enslaved we are to the upkeep of the technologies that are supposed to make our lives more convenient. It is only just now that these issues appear to be finally resolved.

In any case, the plan is to release the next three chapters of Choir! as our last of that title, and then focus on Kimi no Tame for the foreseeable future. I can't say just when our next release will be, but we are and will be working toward it as time and circumstances allow. Thanks for your patience.

Upcoming New Project: Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru

We are pleased to announce that we are taking on a new project, Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru (For Your Sake, I Would Die).

This is a charming work very, very, VERY loosely based on the life of Heian-era author and poet Sei Shonagon. The 27 year-old Shonagon, depicted here as a sort of medieval NEET, manages to land a job as the private tutor of the beautiful and refined teenage princess, Teishi. (Yes, age-gap romance!) There are also a number of other quirky court ladies, some of whom have their own eye on Shonagon...

Zefiris really liked this one, and I'm quite taken with it as well. Please look forward to the first chapters soon! (And don't worry, we won't be neglecting Choir. We intend to alternate releases.)

Page 6 of Chapter 22 Missing

Somehow page 6 of chapter 22 got left out of the release. (I guess nobody understood the significance of Kakin Ondo without this...most unfortunate. You may now be enlightened.)

Here is the missing page. The batch download links in the original post below have also been updated. Thanks to an anonymous commenter for the tip-off.

Status Update

Hey everyone, sorry for the delay. Just to let you know, we are alive and working. With luck, we'll be releasing chapters 22-25, the "Love-Love Ski Trip" arc, soon. The progress is as follows:



22: Completed
23: Completed
24: Completed
25: Editing

Please look forward to it. Here's a bit of a preview, haha...

Ehhhhhh!?

We've been quiet for a while, and many of you have been wondering as to the situation.

In a word, Zefiris will be unable to devote time to this project until after the end of this year.

I apologize, both for this hiatus and for the delay in announcing it. I won't conceal that it's been a matter of contention between Zefiris and myself. (Though I must add that "contention" is essentially the normal state of our friendship, and has been for its many years.)

However, one fact not in contention is that as both translator and primary editor, this project has always been 85% Zefiris' efforts, so both you and I will simply have to await her pleasure.

Until that time, and our next release, happy holidays.

Upcoming project: Oniyuri-san and Himeyuri-san

We are pleased to announce an uncoming new project: Oniyuri-san and Himeyuri-san, a webmanga described as a "high-tension yuri x yuri love comedy".

On campus, student council secretary Oniyuri Itsuki and student council president Himeyuri Shizuku are popular total opposites. While their respective fans are divided into factions, their actual relationship is....!!

At the moment there is just one chapter, and we don't actually know if this is just a one-shot or if it will be continued - it is titled as oneshot, but who knows. Obviously we hope the latter, but in any case, please look forward to it.