Akita Land Gothic - Vol. 2 Ch. 27 - Good Night, Akita-chan

[MangaDex]

 

[GreyArea]

Sorry for the wall of text, but I really wanted to share my opinion on this series.

Not gonna lie, I’ll really miss this series. I loved how it managed to be bizarre and nostalgic at the same time. Despite how absurd and wacky the setting was, it really did feel like Kikai wrote it based on his own experiences. Making silly games with your friends, getting really into obscure stuff barely anyone cares about, seeing weird things that you aren't even sure were real anymore, getting tired and going to bed early. To me, they were very relatable. It felt like home from a child's perspective.

Reading this felt like listening to someone talking passionately about stuff they really, really like. It's, I dunno, endearing? Hell, I'll gladly read a chapter about drying paint if it's this guy writing it. I'm pretty sure the subterranean leader guy's looks were based on RAAM too, and goddamn that took me back. The zombos were also deeefinitely Mike Mignola's.

It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I definitely enjoyed it. I'll miss this. A lot. It makes me sad that we'll never find out why Akita's mom in chapter 6 looks completely different from Akita's mom in the last chapter.

Thank you for reading (the manga, not my rambling). It warms my heart knowing that even though it's not the most popular series ever, it is appreciated.

 

[riftsalad]

Thanks for translating this. I really enjoyed reading it.

 

[DJNoodle]

@GreyArea thank you for the translation! I really like this series, I need another 200 chapters.

 

[Balloti]

Thank you so much for translating this

One of the best mangas I've read this year

 

[gyozatime]

I liked this manga, and all 27 of the chapters were entertaining. I think the MVP was the mystical setting that really made it unique. Thanks for the scanlating another neat manga!

 

[snarn]

thanks for the translations, was a fun ride.

 

[thobong]

Done already? I really enjoying the ride, thank you for all of the hard work!

 

[Scytale]

I loved this as well, and would be happy to read more from the author... It doesn't look like they've worked on anything else apart from one-off projects, though? Such a pity.

Be that as it may, thank you very much for allowing us to partake of ALU, @GreyArea. I look forward to what you'll translate next!

 

[GreyArea]

@Scytale
Kikai's made a couple of doujins (not porn, mind you, but none are available online except one) and two more two-volume series (School Architect and Karimen Santa Sandy-san, both of which are... experimental if you're feeling generous and jank if you're a bit harsh).

 

[sarusa]

Noooooooo! Well, it was fun while it lasted, thanks for translating.

 

[Scytale]

@GreyArea Interesting! Thanks for the intel.
Well, maybe one day, they'll get to work on something more solid? I'm not holding my breath, though T_T

 

[gouder]

Thanks for translating this gem @GreyArea, it's been a blast!
It's a bit of a shame that the series didn't get as much as attention as I think it deserves, but it's nice to see that it did still get some love.
Also if anyone's interested, Kikai made a surprise extra strip in 2018 here: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/68500388
Sayonara Akita-chan!

 

[livermind]

does kikai have a twitter account?

 

[GreyArea]

@livermind
Sure does https://mobile.twitter.com/Masin_Machine

 

[ckckckck]

Thanks for translating this work. GreyArea's summary is something I completely agree with. The setting together with the stories were a mixture of uniqueness and familiarity.