Akiko HigashimuraPrincess Jellyfish 1

I've been a fan of Princess Jellyfish ever since watching the anime several years ago, and I always hoped the manga would be published in English. And lo and behold, now Kodansha is finally making that dream a reality!The volume itself is a 2-in-1 omnibus, clocking in at close to 400 pages, which makes it a great deal for the price. In addition to page count, the volume is also slightly larger than regular-sized manga (see my comparison photo with a volume of Sailor Moon). The design is cute and eye-catching, and there are several color pages inside as well. The paper quality is about the same as regular manga, and the translation is well-done. There are also a few pages of translation notes at the end, which are very helpful (I always appreciate it when publishers take the time to add such notes). Overall, a fantastic product!As for the story, I have always loved Princess Jellyfish for its clever humor and relatable characters (I personally can relate quite well to a bunch of nerdy girls with little to no social skills!) The humor is probably my favorite of any manga I've ever read. If you're unsure about whether you'd like the manga, I suggest watching an episode or two of the anime--if you like that, then you'll definitely love the manga.For those on the fence about buying this volume, I would recommend that you please do! Kodansha has licensed the first 12 volumes of the manga (to be published in 6 omnibus volumes), and they have stated that they will decide whether or not to publish the rest of the volumes after that based on sales figures. So if you don't support the series now, we might not get all the volumes! Show Princess Jellyfish the love it deserves!

~4-4.5/5I have been wanting to read this for a while now. I watched the anime and was immediately obsessed. I knew it was only a matter of time, and was super excited when Kodansha announced they would be releasing it in two-in-ones. Firstly, it’s a very pretty, big volume. I wouldn’t have minded single volumes, but these are nice as well, and about the same price it would be otherwise, if a couple dollars cheaper. There are also five color pages, and they are gorgeous.I will say that the anime follows the manga very closely, at least so far. But I don’t mind a bit, and it made me want to re-watch it after reading. The artwork is a little rough at times, but mostly I didn’t mind it at all. It was very pretty in some places as well. The humor was the same as in the anime, exaggerated and adorable and funny.Tsukimi lives in a house with a group of otaku girls, all of them terrified of other people and going outside and men and stylish women. They call themselves nuns, or amars. When Tsukimi runs into Kuranosuke, who is crossdressing as a stylish woman at the time, he kind of barges into her life. This then proceeds to freak out her roommates, when they don’t even know he’s a guy. But Kuranosuke helps them when they find out their house is trying to be bought and demolished, and he also introduces Tsukimi to his political, extremely shy around women, older brother. We also meet their driver, Hanamori, who is pretty much an otaku for cars, and I like him a lot.I love how this series deals with insecurities and individuality. All of the characters are insecure about something—the women are pretty much insecure about everything—but they’re also completely themselves. They don’t shy from their obsessions, or their fear of other people. They look how they look and don’t want to change that, are even afraid to. They are how they are, and they don’t know how to be any different, and might not even care to change that, either. On the other side of it, Kuranosuke dresses like a woman all the time, tells people about it and uses it to bother his family. He doesn’t hide who he is or what he wants to do. He’s proud of it, even.I am just in love with this series. I think it’s hilarious and adorable, quirky in the best possible way, impressive. It reminds me of Ouran High School Host Club, only with college-aged otaku women. If you’re even a little curious, I would recommend picking it up. I would recommend it to anyone, actually. I am eagerly awaiting the next one.[More of my reviews are available on my blog, Geeky Reading, to which there's a link on my profile.]

I was excited to learn that Princess Jellyfish, or Kuragehime as it's known in Japanese, would be getting a licensed translation. The translation does not disappoint.For those unfamiliar with the story of Princess Jellyfish, the manga tells the story of a jellyfish otaku (or hardcore fan/nerd) who lives in Tokyo in an all-women's apartment building populated entirely by other otaku, who call themselves "amars" or nuns. Their motto is "a life without need for men." All of this changes when a fashionable stranger, Kuranosuke, arrives, and their beloved apartment building is slated for demolition in a community redevelopment project. The clothes-loving Kuranosuke suggests that the amars create a fashion line to make enough money to save their building, but the world of fashion is more complicated than they could imagine.I was a little disappointed in the print quality, it's a bit more mass-market paperback than softcover, with a shiny cover that scratches easily and paper a little cheaper than most josei and seinen I have purchased before (shonen and shoujo manga seem more likely to get this kind of printing). After just one read through it no longer looked new. Since it is a two-volume omnibus, affordability seems to be the key factor rather than quality. It does have eight color pages, which was a nice touch--four at the beginning of the first volume and four at the beginning of the second.This translation keeps many Japanese terms and honorifics untranslated, which I like, but others may not. The translators use of "fujoshi" seemed a little off until I read the translation notes at the end, though.These notes should assist anyone unfamiliar with many of the terms used.

The artwork is nice. The font is large easy to read. In manga, font matters, because what good is wonderful artwork, if one is unable to read the text? This two volumes in one has such Heart! I’m very happy with my purchase. I’m only sorry that I waited so long to get this book. I look forward to reading the rest of this series. It reminds one of the Ugly Betty telenovela. This manga is like Rainbow Brite for Grown Ups. I really like it. I needed a smile. Yay!

I discovered this delightful work through watching the (also recommended) anime first. I adored the quirky characters, the simple, yet not overly cutesy art design, and plot so much that I wanted more, so I immediately pre-ordered the first three 2-in-1 omnibus volumes (all that was then available), and I just can't wait for the next one to appear at my door. At the moment only the first 12 volumes are planned to be released in English in this omnibus volume format with the publishers, Kodansha, waiting to see what the general response is before committing beyond that. I certainly hope that the response is as positive as mine has been, to allow the series to be continued to be published in this format. It is a nicely refreshing tale of madcap, yet believable, reclusive characters with quirky obsessions. The main character who is jellyfish-mad, is simply delightful. Throw into the mix, the outgoing, driven, fashion-conscious new arrival, with a secret only the main character is aware of, to this group, and you soon get to see sparks fly. Not to mention the backdrop of romance, corporate skulduggery, property buy-out fights, and so much more going on all at once.As of now, I am awaiting delivery of the second volume, arriving in the next fortnight or so. Other reviewers comment on the height of the volume, which, yes, is taller (at about 20.8cm) than the average manga tanbokon (about 19cm). It is also deeper (14.5 vs 12.5 cm) but with 5 more (and then some, hopefully!) of the same size volume to come, this would perhaps become less of an issue to those who obsess about their shelving layouts. I've read through this volume several times now with no issues with the ink, the paper, or with the glossy cover.I heartily recommend this.

In diesem Manga geht es um ein Mädchen, dass ein Otaku-Leben führt und einen crossdresser trifft. Darauf entwickelt sich eine zunächst freundschaftliche Beziehung. Ich finde die Story zuckersüß! Der Zeichenstil ist für mich sehr angenehm und der Band ist etwa doppelt so dick wie ein normaler Manga. Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit dem Manga und freue mich sehr darauf die Story weiter zu lesen!

Product arrived on time and as described.

I really like Princess Jellyfish. The story is really enter and the characters are great. The quality of the Manga is great.