My Lovely Ghost Kana

[NaweG]

Have some things about the second volume I'm dying to discuss, but the main place doing the releases doesn't care for spoilers in their forums, and since they've only released the first chapter from the second volume... :D

So, anyone else out there?

[jesus28]

I have 3 questions for you:
1. where did you get the raws for vol 2.
2. does it end with vol 2.
3. could you send me any spoilers via email.

Thanks, just finished reading the 9 chapters out last night, want to know what happens to their relationship

[NaweG]

1 - I bought Volume II from Amazon.co.jp, not sure if there are RAW scans available anywhere or not. Fairly sure even if there were that they shouldn't be discussed on here :D

2 - It doesn't look like this is the last Volume by a long shot

3 - I would really prefer to discuss on here, just to see if we can't get a few folks talking about it.

Besides, my translation skills aren't the best, and I'm hoping to find other who HAVE read it who can help me figure out if I've read it right.

FWIW...

[xris]

Thread renamed, no reason not to use this thread for discussion on any of the volumes of My Lovely Ghost Kana.

[NaweG]

Oh good. For a second I thought I had missed an already existing thread for this.

[Jeiku]

This is definitely one of my favorite manga of all time. When I first got into Kana, I had read that this was an "ecchi comedy" series, and so I figured it was going to be another one of those typical "unlucky everydude suddenly finds a ghost who becomes infatuated with him, and hilarity ensues" sorts of stories, but it's far from it. I summarized my thoughts about it in a mini-review when the first volume was completed, so I'll c/p it here.

Itoshi no Kana is a romance ecchi following the day by day lives of Daikichi and Kana. Unlucky Daikichi moves into an abandoned apartment after losing his job and home, unable to afford much luxury in the least. As it turns out, a girl committed suicide in that very building some time ago, and her ghost continues to wander the premises under the name "Kana," with little to no memory of her past life. While dismayed by the spirit's presence in the beginning (and not shocked by it so much as annoyed), Daikichi finds Kana to be very supportive of him regardless, and the two soon fall in love.

Already this manga shows signs of being an oddball in its numerous genres. It's an ecchi comedy of sorts, but not in the way one might expect. Its humorous and light-hearted moments help serve to power its mellow, peaceful atmosphere, rather than trying to make the reader laugh out-right. And by ecchi, I mean there aren't any of the ridiculous "accidents" that plague such supposed classics as Love Hina - no boob-grabs, no walking-in-while-changing, no nosebleeds or over-exaggerated expressions courtesy of the pervert male lead, nothing. In fact, Daikichi and Kana have sex on occasion (particularly in the first half of volume one), but while you do see a bit of nudity, the sex isn't explicit at all like hardcore adult titles are. It's not even gratuitous in the least, and is quite tasteful. Because the sex isn't made out to be the title's focus, it comes off as rather cute and actually nice - not as a cheap means of 'getting it off,' but to see these characters' feelings blossom and flourish, with a sweet, non-insulting hint of eroticism.

Kana is slice-of-life romance material, so most of the chapters are stand-alone and don't have much bearing on other stories. Only the first chapter is used to introduce us to Daikichi and Kana; afterwards, the series goes on its merry way of showcasing their newfound lives. At first, the "ghost as a girlfriend" aspect feels much like a mere romance gimmick: yet another lone young male adult getting lucky through an unusual turn of events. However, it all plays out importantly in a thematic sense rather than story-wise (as Kana doesn't really have much of a story). Kana threw away her own life, but encourages Daikichi to live his to the fullest. The irony of her death comes in play as it actually causes the two to meet in the first place, bringing each other unlikely joy. At one point, Daikichi even deals with Kana's apparent nonexistence during her lifetime, as the world paid next to no attention to her suicide once it was featured very briefly in a newspaper column. Even if Daikichi and Kana's relationship still seems gimmicky all in all, reading the last chapter in volume one will bring its true meaning up to full, and the reader finds out just why the author wrote this story that way. Despite the supernatural occurrence of their relationship, their love feels just as natural and real as any.

A majority of the volume is told through Daikichi's perspective, and we see his daily life with Kana while exploring his feelings about it. There's a fair amount of narration on each page - never to the point of excessive, but gives each scene ever more meaning to them. The manga doesn't dwell on specific detail; we are given no clue on Daikichi's past or why he lost his job in the first place, nor do we even find out what he and Kana were arguing about in a later chapter. Instead, we see the effects of such untold facts, and how the characters react to them and do what they do. Much of the in-story dialogue chronicles mundane conversations and exchanges between Daikichi and Kana, so there aren't any complex explanations or extended philosophical musings to be found. The art is simplistic but very pretty to look at, although is not the greatest of styles; often the author uses comedic chibi-fied facial expressions to illustrate a panel or two, and while it works sometimes, it is also a bit distracting and strange to look at. Not a lot of detail has been put into the characters' designs, although it is obvious much care has gone into the backgrounds and scenery, which resemble at times an artist's sketchbook even.

So far only one volume of Kana has been published, and I have no clue when the second is due. Regardless, volume one brings about its own conclusion and wraps up a few of its story elements nicely (in fact, if it weren't for the author confirming the next volume in the epilogue, I'd have thought with sadness that this were the end). It is only eight chapters long so far, but already Kana has impressed me, and has proved to be one of the best romances I have ever read, making this manga a set favorite of mine. It has its own share of light yet provoking slice-of-life elements, with nice artwork and highly likable main characters. Sure, there's a bit of sex thrown in it for good measure, but it plays second stage in comparison to the gorgeous romance shared by Daikichi and Kana, as well as the general themes of life and death presented throughout each individual chapter. Kana may be a spirit lover, but it's not the generic "magical girlfriend" ecchi title one might think of it.

Kana actually is one of the most wonderful, sweetest things I have ever read, and it seriously has changed the way I feel about myself. It makes me happy to be alive, it makes me love life, etc. It is a rare type of story that I always find myself going back to and re-reading every once in a while. ♥

With that out of the way, I feel that it is important to note that the word "kana" actually means "chicken" in Finnish. I often refer to this as Ghost Chicken when mentioning it around my friends. Hilarity ensues.

It was very hard to wait such a long time for the next chapter to be translated, but I was happy when it finally came out, and it is so worth the wait.

[NaweG]

For my fellow fans of Kana, I'd like to announce the first episode of my "fanimation" based on My Lovely Ghost Kana
http://frame.revver.com/frame/120x90/1136024.jpg (http://revver.com/video/1136024/affiliate/219725/my-lovely-ghost-episode-1-beginnings//url)

[NaweG]

Have just released the second episode in the series "My Lovely Ghost" based on the Manga "My Lovely Ghost Kana" (愛しのかな, Itoshi no Kana) by Yutaka Tanaka. In this week's episode, Amano and Kana begin working on making the apartment more of a home for both of them. This includes Amano learning about more of Kana's past, and figuring out just where the fuse box is. Enjoy this second episode of "My Lovely Ghost" by Ewan Grantham and the Robot Acting Company:
http://frame.revver.com/frame/120x90/1149612.jpg (http://revver.com/video/1149612/affiliate/219725/my-lovely-ghost-episode-2-making-a-new-life/)

[NaweG]

Anyone who's interested, I just got Volume III courtesy of FedEx today. This is supposedly the final Volume in the series. So, anyone out there who still wants to talk about this series?

[Johnny]

Been awhile since the last scanned chapter. I'm curious to see if she gets any denser (so to speak) if you don't mind spoiling the ending...?

[NaweG]

Been awhile since the last scanned chapter. I'm curious to see if she gets any denser (so to speak) if you don't mind spoiling the ending...?

Spoilers for remainder of Vol II and Vol III ahead...

In the last two chapters of Vol II, a "real" girl moves into the complex. The first chapter of this has Kana thinking she's being followed by a ghost (ironic, eh?), and then the last chapter of the story in Vol II has things happening between the girl and Daikichi to suggest that things might get more serious from there. Then Vol II ends with a one-shot story from some other line.

In Vol III we see some more of the new girl, but after a couple chapters not much at all. There's a very interesting chapter 21.5 that seems to explain a number of things that the series has raised as questions, but my Japanese isn't good enough to follow. The last chapter implies that we get a "happier ever after" non-ending. Looks nice, but not really the conclusion I was hoping for. Oh well, looks reasonably sweet anyway.

[velvet nightmare]

ending was translated recently, have to say, was anti climactic, but overall the series was decent enough