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07 Jan 10

& Chibisan Date (1-3.5), of art and love!

Posted by Kyfni - Filed under Chibisan Date, Kagami, Kyfni, Manga, Reviews

The cast of Chibisan Date! We have four males and four females, hmm~ :)

Trying a slightly different collaboration style; summary on top (click the pink link for the collapsable text block!) and commentary at the bottom. Hopefully this’ll help churn out our posts faster; and let us actually follow our schedule. ^^;;

Chibisan Date is written and drawn by Himaruya Hidekaz, mangaka of Axis Powers: Hetalia fame. We love APH, and the same holds true for this new series; and the art is amazing. Scanlations by an anon on 4chan, retrieved from the LJ community. :)

Impressions of the first three-and-a-half chapters, click the jump!

【Chapter 1】Clear, some of the babena in the garden have flowered

His friends and housemates seem to be really supportive of him; with friends like these, why so sad, Seiji?

The protagonist Seiji lives in Nantucket, in Cape Cod; which is in the Atlantic Ocean a bit off the coast of Massachusetts. He’s an artist~

We meet the namesake of series (presumably): Chibisan, who is the female version of Chibitalia lives with Suehiro-san and Seiji. It seems our artist is suffering from an artist’s block and can’t figure out what to draw; he’s so morose.

Two sisters drop by to cheer him up, Candy and Margaret, as does his friend Fischer albeit more indirectly (who throws food at him is it a tomato?). He receives some good advice from Suehiro and his drawings flow right from the page~ literally. But then he gives up? Baww, keep fighting Seichii ;A;

The main character reminds me of a bunch of Hetalia nations… but he’s unique enough and I’m growing to like him. I like the tone of this manga, it’s so calm; and I’m really looking forward to the development of Seiji’s character. The introduction of nearly the whole cast (referring to the title spread) might have been a bit too much, but the chapter length was adequate and I think it really emphasizes their closeness on this island. ♥

Anything that uses Himaruya’s art is going to remind me of Hetalia ffff. Seiji kinda reminds me of Nihon, but the more I read the more I see he’s different. Such a cutie. >w< And he lives on Alfred's ahoge hurrhurr /yeahI'mgoingtomakealotofAPHreferences. Artist's block, don't I know that feeling too xD

【Chapter 2】Clear, I stocked up on paints while I was out.

In which Honorat channels Francis, and the boys bond a bit more.

Seiji has a date is hanging out with Fischer, who takes him to see someone “weird” named Honorat; he’s also an artist, and hopefully Seiji will find some inspiration in this quite artistic home.

Interestingly, Seiji mentions that he was once at Glasgow, which is in the UK. Hmm, I’d like to know more about Seiji’s past but I suppose that’s for another time. :)

He’s invited into the studio, where Honorat reminds us of France but with clothes on. On a more serious note, Seiji receives some advice (love!) which will probably be beneficial for him later on. Fight-o!

And Seiji forgot the onions he was asked to buy. Tsktsk :P

Uhm it might just my Hetalia-corrupt mind, but about Seiji moving countries, USUK anyone? /shottt

Ohohoh Kyfni. Thank you for giving me reasons to ship even though they’re not even in this XD

Anyways, I find it really sweet what Fischer’s doing for him, and I really hope Seiji finds his muse. (Maybe it’ll come in the form of a person? That’s just the fangirl begging for romance, ignore her. -w-)

Well, romance would be s-s-so cute ;w; This story just like, radiates sweetness. :3

B-but just imagine, Seiji might have a British accent… *instant fan!*

Hosnap that would be epic win. *A* Well if he grew up there, then… C: We’ll see I guess. xD

【Chapter 3】Today I made cookies and tried my hardest. Just one more.

Seiji reads Margaret's exchange diary and finds a little bit more about his lady friend, including what might be a confession?

Margaret Baker finally gets the spotlight, who seems to be introducing herself to an unknown girl with pigtails (*points at cast picture* I’m assuming the Seychelles lookalike?). That’s what it seems to be, but Seiji’s the one reading about it?!

She’s brought him her exchange diary with the girl, saying that she never introduced herself three years ago when they met. She then offers him cookies that she baked at the beginning of the chapter (though she remarks that “they weren’t good” aww).

Her backstory is that she was born in Boston, and her father was a shipbuilder. They came to Nantucket shortly after, and has a sister (not sure if they’re twins, though). She’s also an artist, but a different kind: an aspiring novelist!

The interview / reading continues after Seiji eats some cookies, which he confesses weren’t great. She’s unaffected though, and it seems neither of them can cook anyways. xD

Margaret has someone she loves! She describes him as not really tall, more cute than cool and kind at heart. He made her heart pound at the first meeting (dokidoki~), and took an interest in him from that point on.

There’s a bit of an age difference, since he’s a working adult but they look about the same age. All the evidence after that points to Seiji, who lives in a loft and helps the man who makes pottery (Suehiro-san). He also draws and worries a lot. Then she talks about why she loves him, mainly because talking and being with him makes her happy.

Remember though, Seiji was the one reading this~ and he’s told to “interpret it however [he] wants.” He has to leave because of work, and she promises to make better cookies next time which he’ll be looking forward to. :D

At home, Margaret (nicknamed ‘Meg’) is baking cookies again, and this time she actually follows her sister’s instructions, so they taste good~ hurry up and get them to Seichii and cheer him up! >w<

Seiji doesn't have any questions to ask at the moment, hm~? And the diary's written in English!

My OTP. I love this romance already, it’s so very peaceful~ and you can tell she really likes him even though he doesn’t know it (yet). Their interaction is really nice too because their contrasting personalities are evident~ maybe she’s the muse he’s looking for! Hope we’ll get to see more development, ’cause that would be lovely.

Oh gosh, the cuteness it KILLS. So sweet. ;w; Margaret’s such a sweetie lol. The easiest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. 8D LOL I agree.

And I love that the diary is in English. Takes place here in America, so it makes sense yay~ I half expected it to be scribbled or in Japanese xD

【Chapter 3.5】Extra 1

Seichii is cute, cute~

Summary ;; Hair musings

A short, four-page extra about Seiji musing about his hair. He says it’s too unkempt for drawing, and decides to grow out his hair like Fischer; until then though, he’ll wear a bandana. Remind you of anyone?

Chibitalia~! Again! I’m loving all these APH references. But nyuu, don’t do it Seiji—I like your hair as-is. ;A; And efff lol, he’s waaay too adorable. *h-huggles*

alskdj;alsdkfjs;foishgsk HE’S SO CUTE. ;A; -also hugs him-
Kyfni you think our husbands might get a little weirded out by this post, maybe. XD
No worries they’ll never see~ plus they have each other still

15 Comments

On Friday, January 8th, 2010, @ 10:25 AM, Kiseki said:

Chapter 3 is totally sweet. ; o ;

Oh fack I don’t know whether I should ship Seiji/Candy or Seiji/Margaret or Seiji/Yuriko or Fischer/Seiji HIMA-SAN WHY IS THIS SUCH A CUTE MANGA.
And this doesn’t even include the prefectures that I can historically, possibly ship him with. >:I

Seiji reminds me more of Iceland because he looks kinda like Spain and Aisu’s lovechild. BUT I SWEAR THE MOE IS COMPLETELY INHERITED FROM AISU OKAY.

(I have chapter 1 HQ downloaded from Comic Birz. I was going to scanlate this long ago since the typesetting would be really easy, but LOLSEINENDOESNOTHAVEFURIGANA.)

I got lazy and sent it to FwPA. Though I still want to typeset. >:I

Ahh, I can’t wait for Yuriko’s appearance, her goodbye with Seiji was too bittersweet and is still probably my favorite part. ;3; (Seiji has a fucking harem. Three girls like him and that does not include the loli or Sujanta.)
Kiseki´s last blog ..Nakayoshi + Ribon 2010 #1 (sc! ending? *legaspeth*)

[Reply]
On Saturday, January 9th, 2010, @ 4:04 PM, Kyfni said:

I don’t know half of who you’re talking about because I can’t read Japanese |D;;
(So I need to wait for the scanlations >:T)

Anyways I think I’ll continue to ship Seiji/Margaret just because they had such a good introduction (I did contemplate about Fischer but pfft Margaret’s cuter) ahaha. And I’m biased right now because I don’t know who Yuriko is (the Seychelles lookalike? if yes, effff I might ship the trianlge).

AHAHA I see what Himaruya is doing. Hetalia was a reverse harem (there were like what, 7-8 girls and 50+ guys?) so he’s switching gears here. Fwaaah I can’t wait WHY DON’T YOU BLOG ABOUT THE RAWS D<

asdfjkl; *A*

[Reply]
- On Sunday, January 10th, 2010, @ 1:37 AM, Kiseki said:
  
  Uhh, you should know who everyone is. oAo Yuriko is Seiji’s (childhood?) friend from Japan. Her goodbye to him was really, really sweet. If it were animated well (which wouldn’t work since the Chibisan style is best for manga), I would cry.
  
  Lololol I don’t think Sujanta (the Indian) appeared in volume 1. 8D;; Yeah, that’s right, she’s only in the color spread at the top thar. (I think Himaruya scrapped Rocket (the shouta) though. ;A;)
  
  I only have chapter 1. Most of the other information I know, I wheedled them out of my two friends who bought the tankoubon. ^q^;;
  
  I had planned and started on making an information post for Chibisan, but I pretty much lazed off and it’s not a priority now.
  
  Anon Black bought the tankoubon already. :D
  Kiseki´s last blog ..Nakayoshi + Ribon 2010 #1 (sc! ending? *legaspeth*)
  
  [Reply]
  - On Sunday, January 10th, 2010, @ 11:08 AM, Kyfni said:
    
    I exaggerated ehehe I only didn’t know who Yuriko was (now I do tyyy~) |D
    
    But this is baaad because my OTPs are always childhood friendships ;; how will I whole-heartedly support Seiji/Margaret now T_T; (okay whatever Seijixharem it is)
    
    Hmm I don’t really think it would work animated either. That’s a shame though… ):
    
    Bawww I was expecting to see all the characters in the spread, especially the shouta and loli (to see if I could ship them or something) but hgnn, I’ll just hope baw.
    
    Wheeee okay I can’t wait until it’s scanlated them :3
    And if you typeset then I get to prod you :D
    
    [Reply]
    - On Tuesday, January 12th, 2010, @ 8:32 PM, Kiseki said:
      
      I would’ve replied earlier, but um, yeah… = 7 = ;;
      
      I’m a sucker for childhood relationships too. :< But seeing how they refer to each other with -san, they could be just normal friends.
      
      Rocket and Chibi-san were together in the Sujanta comic Himaruya posted on his blog. It's very cute.
      
      That is most likely not happening, haha. ;;
      Kiseki´s last blog ..Nakayoshi + Ribon 2010 #2
      
      [Reply]
      - On Thursday, January 14th, 2010, @ 12:22 AM, Kyfni said:
        
        No worries, procrastination/laziness is our best friend |D
        
        Boo, but you never know what’ll happen? Hnn… if I go with Seijixharem though, I PROBABLY won’t be disappointed (lolwhatifheendsupwithfischer /shot).
        
        I’ll have to scan through his blog, I’ve been meaning to for so long Dx (I need to save all his drawings ’cause they’re too adorable ;;)
        
        We’ll see :3
        
        [Reply]
        
        On Thursday, January 14th, 2010, @ 3:17 AM, Kiseki said:
        
        I was actually referring to the comments not showing up. ಠ_ಠ
        
        Screw dat he’s ending up with Suehiro-san yo.
        
        It’s the first post using the ちびさんデイト tag, actually…
        I’ve scanned through his blog so many times and have to re-scan to save all the non-Hetalia stuff now. = u = He deleted a bunch of posts, I noticed. I can’t seem to find the one with the lineart of chibi Meg & Candy. (Well, I didn’t think they looked very nice, but I didn’t save them. ; o ; )
        
        Pfft. They said that it would be amazing if I could help with the translating, but that was my problem, so…yeah. = 7 = ;;
        Kiseki´s last blog ..Nakayoshi + Ribon 2010 #2
        
        On Thursday, January 14th, 2010, @ 7:46 AM, Kyfni said:
        
        Ffff sorry KM has been glitchy lately for some reason. :(
        It seems to have fixed itself now though :D
        
        LOL nooo that’s like… like… (could make a lot of Hetalia comparisons but won’t). orz
        
        Now I know what to do in my free time C:
        Ty for the link~ Rocket’s so cute asdfjkl; He reminds me of Prussia. ._.
        
        Hnnnn. Scanlating is fun though :’D
On Thursday, January 14th, 2010, @ 7:17 AM, Sapphire Pyro said:

Anything by Hidekaz is love~

OMG . . . is this scanlated? I only saw the first chapter. *cries*

I don’t know what’s happening in the chapters but I have a feeling we’ll have the same OTP and SEIJI’S REALLY CUTE ESPECIALLY IN THAT LAST IMAGE!!! KYAAAAAAA!!!!!!! xD
Sapphire Pyro´s last blog ..+C: Sword and Cornett Chapters

[Reply]
- On Thursday, January 14th, 2010, @ 7:54 AM, Kyfni said:
  
  Yes it has been~ we don’t know by who, and we don’t really know how to get updates other than via other people though. :(
  
  Actually if you go through that post above us * points ^ * you’ll see that Kiseki is ~~corrupting me even more~~ changing my OTP every other comment. 8D
  
  ( But we probably will if you love chapter 3 as much as I did :D )
  
  [Reply]
  - On Thursday, January 14th, 2010, @ 9:50 AM, Sapphire Pyro said:
    
    Thanks! I found them now *_* Okay, I think I’ll be blogging it because I worship Himaruya-san, haha xD
    
    [Reply]
On Friday, January 15th, 2010, @ 6:45 PM, Kiseki said:

I still say you should remove some scripts though. Dx

Yeah that’s what I thought too. xD; If not for the shit font he used then I might’ve translated that by now. (Scanlated doesn’t seem to be the right word since there’s no scanning involved…)

I stopped a long time ago though. :’D I’m really rusty now.
Hey sir do you happen to have a keygen to CS3 or CS4? :D
Kiseki´s last blog ..Nakayoshi + Ribon 2010 #2

[Reply]
- On Friday, January 15th, 2010, @ 6:53 PM, Kyfni said:
  
  Err, you’re talking to the wrong person. All I know is CSS |D (and some other random knowledge)
  
  It’s part of his… uh, charm? Yeah but translate+edit is too long to type, even if I just did. :’D
  
  Rustiness can be brushed away with practice! /shot
  & Nope, sorry~ my CS3 is kinda legal, well I got it from a friend. >w>
  
  [Reply]
  - On Friday, January 15th, 2010, @ 6:59 PM, Kiseki said:
    
    Pfft. ಠ_ಠ
    Kuchi-Makase likes to take its time loading. = 7 =
    
    Not as bad as his handwriting. = u = ;;
    
    Ah, okay then. ;u;
    Kiseki´s last blog ..Nakayoshi + Ribon 2010 #2
    
    [Reply]
    - On Friday, January 15th, 2010, @ 7:09 PM, Kyfni said:
      
      W-we like our uh, stuff that makes it load slower.
      
      Handwriting of any langauge is the worst to read. Not that I should be talking lolo
      
      [Reply]