Comic Market 86: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

Twin turbo

Long-time favorite of Because Japan Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi has an undeniable twin complex--the circle's original works seem to frequently involve doubles making discoveries together.  While details are scant, one could guess that the circle's C86 offering will keep the theme, though it would be a surprise to learn if one of these twins is male....

The circle's other offerings include yet another entry in their cryptically named omake series, and a shitajiki.

Sunshine Creation 64: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi

Go team go!

Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi continued their Morse code-monikered sketchbooks at Sankuri 64 with Nine Eight Zero--I'm thinking of contracting a codebreaker myself to try to come up with an understanding of how and why the circle's going with this naming convention for this year.  A towel featuring KanColle's Amatsukaze helps clean up afterwards. 

Sunshine Creation 63: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi

Airships

Credit Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi for coming up with an entirely new way of touting one's otakudom worldwide--kanmusu sisters Kongou and Haruna appear on a perfectly lovely folder for airline boarding passes for sale at Sankuri 63, alongside the circle's latest cryptic omake book, Zero Three Zero.

COMIC1☆8: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi

DFC SOS!

Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi's realm is usually that of original stories involving that rare and blessed beast, the deliciously flat-chested naif, so it was something of a surprise when, back at Comic Market 85, Alpha defied both expectations by offering a Kantai Collection parody book featuring the somewhat endowed Tenryuu, not exactly the most likely choice of all the kanmusu candidates.  COMIC1 sees something of a return to form, however, as the decidedly more hydrodynamic Akatsuki sisters Inazumi and Izakuchi on the cover, with Akatsuki and Hibiki on the back, on the cover of the not-subtly-titled  Petit Lips.  The quartet gets chibified on a travel mug, there's yet another cryptically named omake book, and Shimakaze steps up to help you take it all home from Odaiba after the event.

Sousakubatake Harvest Festival 2014: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

-.- .- .-- .- .. .. !

Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi continues its adorable-girls-and-inscrutable-nomenclature trend for 2014 with ZERO ONE ZERO at Sousakubatake Harvest Festival 2014 later this month, following up Sankuri 62's ZERO NINE SEVEN.  Like clockwork, Alpha continues to produce adorable original character designs that we'll be left pining for all year, surely to resurface only on the circle's annual calendar.  

Sunshine Creation 62: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

New year, new nomenclature

Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi has revealed their first new sketch book of the new year, to be sold at Sunshine Creation 62 this weekend.  Dispensing with the baked goods and sweets-themed names of last year's releases, Zero Nine Seven features the numbers in Morse code underneath the title name, and places an adorable girl dressed appropriately for the season on the cover.  We'll surely see her in the pages of Alpha's 2015 calendar next year.

Comic Market 85: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

A black ship breaks through Alpha's barrier

As I've mentioned before, the first time Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi made it on my radar was their April 2012 Papakiki! ero parody book, Mama ni Naritaino!, and I was gobsmacked to find that parody books were the exception, not the rule, from this rather prolific original doujin-ka.  Since the release of that book, Alpha has done erotic doujinshi comprised completely of figments of its own rather saucy imagination.  Even Alpha cannot ignore the dominant franchise of the day, however, as the circle has revealed a Kantai Collection ero parody in the offering for fans at C85, featuring Tenryuu and Tatsuta.  

A new entry in the circle's long-running sweets-themed omake books, Brownie Position, will be joined by a short-form appearance by the circle's original mischievous siblings, Yui and Sui Takanashi.  A calendar, file folder, and shikishi complete the offerings.  As has been the circle's prerogative for the past several conventions, fans will only be given the chance to buy all of its goods or none at all, and no retail distribution deal has been announced at present.

The only piece of Alpha's offerings separately for sale is this B2-sized tapestry.  

Sunshine Creation 61: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

More sweet stuff from Alpha's kitchen

The steady stream of confectioneries continues from the kitchen of Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi at Sunshine Creation 61 this weekend with Cheese Cake Position, the 6th iteration of their sweets-titled omake books.  The circle's mascot character graces an adorable nekomimi'd hooded towel that the circle originally sold at Sankuri 60 earlier this year.  

Comic Market 84: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

Alpha gets in the Mysterious Transfer Student game at C84

When I bought my first Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi doujinshi, April 2012's Papakiki! parody Mama ni Naritaino!, I hoped I was getting into a relatively unknown artist with a considerable backlog of parody works.  While I was right about the size backlog, I was way way off regarding the circle's source material--Alpha operates almost exclusively in the realm of its own original stories and character creations.

After spending many years in the school halls of the Let's Become an Expert series, Alpha's more recent attention has been focused on a certain sordid family's affairs, with twin sisters Yui and Sui Takanashi the starlets of the circle's Comiket 82 and 83 efforts, and "Nasty Aunt" Aya Natsuki at Comic1☆7 this past April.  The family business continues, it seems, at C84 this weekend, with a new argentine-haired duo on the cover of Transfer Student of Twins Ema & Eve. 

Alpha's slate of goods at C84 includes a new omake book, BISCUIT POSiTION, moving the circle from sweet to savory names, as well as an ID card holder, label set, 4-koma book, and a rather beautiful trio of seifuku'd girls on a clear file.  Regrettably, Alpha has yet to reach a distribution deal with Melonbooks or Toranoana, so the convention will be the only opportunity to buy the set. 

Sunshine Creation 60: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

iM@S Cinderella Girl pillow parade continues with 765 Productions' chuunibyou darling at Sankuri 60

While Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi has never done an iDOLM@STER parody doujinshi, their portfolio of defrocking and deflowering the idols-in-training in dakimakura form grows ever larger at this weekend's Sunshine Creation 60.  Perhaps seeking to cash in on the recent-cour fascination of chuunibyou princesses like Kobato Hasegawa and Rikka Takanashi, Alpha has tabbed the delightfully delusional Ranko Kanzaki for their next pillow cover. 

Just like the Airi Totoki version from Comic Market 83, and the Kanako Mimura piece from Comic1☆7, Alpha has taken inspiration from a couple of Ranko's rare card versions for the dakimakura. 

In addition to the dakimakura, Alpha will have a new book of rough drawings, Candy Position, following the theme of sweet stuff from the circle, with Chocolate, Cream Puff, and Pudding Position already released at Sankuri 58, Sankuri 59, and Comic1☆7 respectively earlier this year.

 

A tip o' the hat to the good folks at Project iM@S for the card images!

Comic1☆7 part 2: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

Stark truth and another family-oriented release from Alpha

Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi has already shown off their newest dakimakura, of iM@S Cinderella Girl Kanako Mimura, and they've now publicized their printed offerings for this weekend's Comic1☆7.  It looks to be an original ero doujin in the same vein as their recent "Twin Sister of Cousin" series; I cannot read Japanese, but the English text under the Japanese title reads "Nasty Aunt Aya Natsuki," so read into it what you will.  By the always reliable Google Translate, Alpha writes, "I drew it because I wanted to write a big tits."  In addition to the ero doujin, there's another sweets-themed omake book, Pudding Position, following on the heels of the previously released Chocolate and Cream Puff Position books earlier this year.  Also, two file folders and a bag to carry it all in.  Regrettably, that bag is necessary, because the goods will be sold only as an all-or-nothing set, just like the circle has done in recent previous shows.  Hopefully Alpha will reach a distribution deal with Toranoana and/or Melonbooks soon...

Comic1☆7: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

Fire up the Motley Crue for a sticky-sweet new iM@S Cinderella Girl!

Hot on the heels of Airi Totoki's dakimakura debut back in mid-March, Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi has announced a new iDOLM@ASTER Cinderella Girl dakimakura treatment, this time of the sugary sweet Kanako Mimura.  Like Totokin, each side of the new dakimakura features the slightly puni Kanako emerging out of outfits she appears in on her normal and S Rare+ cards.  For all the iM@S love Alpha has shown of late, perhaps it's not unrealistic to hope for a new parody doujinshi featuring the girls of 765 Productions at Comic Market 84 this August...?

 Thank you to Project-IMAS.com for the card images!

Sunshine Creation 59: Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

A minor update from Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi at Sunshine Creation 59 this weekend, with the release of a new genga book, Cream Puff Position, ostensibly a companion to Sunshine Creation 58's Chocolate Position.  Alpha typically uses these books to showcase their 4-koma chops using the circle's mascot character, with a sprinkling of character designs that make it into the circle's annual calendar, so not much to be deduced about their next major release.

Access Granted: Alpha (Finally) Reaches Consignment Deal

Doujin hipsters:  "I knew them before they went corporate."

As I've mentioned before on this blog, I broke my cardinal rule of collecting for Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi's Sora Takanashi-centric Papakiki! ero parody doujin Mama ni Nariatino released at COMIC 1☆6 in April 2012, and after acquiring that book desired to reach into the circle's previous works, and was surprised to learn that all their recent works have been original works, rather than parodies.  So too has been the circle's work since.

Not only was Mama ni Nariatino the circle's last parody doujin, but it was also the last of their books to be made available for purchase at retail outlets like Toranoana.  For reasons unknown to this writer, Alpha's next four books were made available only at doujinshi conventions, and sold only as part of a larger set of goods, making them a rare and expensive bird to find on the secondary markets.  Thankfully, according to Alpha's blog, this is no longer an issue--the circle announced a consignment arrangement with both Toranoana and Melonbooks to sell copies of the circle's last four books directly to the retail marketplace:

Along with the announcement, we finally get an enlarged and uncensored view of the circle's C83 offering, a direct follow-up to their C82 release, and it looks to be no slouch:

Comic Market 83: Alpha To Yukaina Nakamatachi / 有葉と愉快な仲間たち

I've been awaiting some kind of indication from the sorely underrated Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi regarding their plans for the upcoming Winter Comic Market.  While news on a book is still forthcoming (I, for one, am holding out hope for a parody work, rather than a continuation of the circle's original series), the circle did display a sample image of a dakimakura of Airi Totoki from iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls:

I'm a joker, I'm a smoker, and with Alpha's help, I might be a midnight totoker.  Image from Alpha's blog.

   I love what Alpha's done with this dakimakura; riffing on this particular card...

Thanks to project-imas.com for the image.

...Alpha seems to have simply taken the illustration to its logical progression.  Not sure, but I believe this may be the first iM@S parody of any kind that Alpha has produced.

Update 12/23/12 3:01 p.m.:

Let's Become an Expert! helmsman in the giving state of mind

Alpha to Yukaina Nakamatachi first entered my radar with the release of their outstanding Comic 1*6 Papakiki! parody doujinshi Mama ni Nariatino!, for which I broke my cardinal collecting rule, "Buy the content, not the cover."  To my dismay, I learned that Alpha has been at the doujin game for quite a long time with a rather extensive backlog of original works, rather than more easily digestible parodies.  While I nibble away at the circle's previous works, I am also very much inclined to acquire new works, be they parody or continuations of original series.

For whatever reason, it seems that Toranoana and Melonbooks are loath to carry Alpha's newest books, making the secondary market for current releases exceedingly thin.  Coupled with the fact that Alpha does not sell the book alone, but rather as part of a rather large merchandise set, makes Alpha's new works both rare and expensive. 

It seems that the same will be true for the circle's Comic Market 83 release, with a large assortment of goods tied to the new ero doujin for sale only as a complete package.  The ero book looks to feature the twin Takahashi girls that made their debut at the August 2011 Comic Market, this one focused on Sui rather than last Comic Market's Yui.  Looks like we'll also be getting a genga black and white book, a calendar, a clear file featuring chibified versions of Alpha's original characters, and more.

There is some parody work to consider, in dakimakura form.  As previously reported, fans of iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girl Airi Totoki will be given the chance to give her a squeeze--credit to Alpha for cleverly having each side of the pillowcase show Totokin in amorous versions of the clothing she appears in on her S Rare+ cards.

Finally, a reusable shopping bag to store one's loot in--I'd love to see other circles take this approach instead of the usual thick paper stock bags typically deployed at the convention.  I like the bag would actually be usable on a normal trip to the market, and that the art isn't so shocking or sexy as to gather more than an idle glance.