NEKO WORKs to Release Kan Colle Parody

Catgirl sisters yield to battleship sisters

For months and months, I've been looking for an excuse to post something new and exciting from the wonderfully talented Sayori of doujinshi circle NEKO WORKs, but other than the artist's work on eroge, the circle has for years been entirely focused on besmirching the chastity of their darling original character mascot catgirls, Chocola and Vanilla.  After a sudden change of avatars on Twitter to none other than alpha kanmusu Shimakaze, circle leader Sayori revealed the circle's first full-length parody work since Comiket 79's Touhou doujin Eastern Garden 03, with Kantai Collection's Kongou and Haruna at the fore.  The book was previewed at Comiket 85 in December, but not ready for sale until now.  The 28-page B5-sized effort is available for preorder from Toranoana now (home of these images), with a release date of March 21.

Comic Market 85: Shigunyan / しぐにゃん

Haruna Nekomimi Mode Melts My Face Off

One of the great thrills of being a doujinshi fan is discovering new artists.  Whether via Pixiv, Twitter, or Toranoana, it seems that every Comiket I find a new book from an artist I don't recognize which stops me in my tracks and forces a headlong dive into their backlog to learn more.  With just a couple of days between now and the beginning of Comiket 85, and a never-ending stream of the same kanmusu over and over to wade through, I truly did not expect to find anything to capture my attention this time around.  Then, I saw this cover, and my rate of deceleration was concussion-inducing, Formula One-grade.  I needed to know more.

From long-time doujinshi circle Shigunyan, this presentation of Kantai Collection's Haruna reclined on tatatmi and sporting nekomimi arrested me on the authority of her supreme cuteness, and the preview pages proved that the art quality carried over into the interior of the book, which, given the high number of submissions and short turnaround time from the Summer Comiket, is even more rare in Winter Comiket releases.  I am rapt.  Going to the artist's website reveals that in addition to this release, the circle will offer a second full-length book featuring a fuwa-fuwa take on Kan Colle's Kaga and a third omake book with kanmusu I-19's torpedoes heavily featured.

Looking back through Shigunyan's previous works reveals that the circle has been in the game for quite a long time, and sticking on a pair of nekomimi to a character seems to be something of a trademark of theirs, but, in this writer's opinion, the circle's art seems to carry shades of mid-90's character designs and, quite simply, isn't that attractive to me.  I am not certain what elements have clicked to produce this Haruna release, but I will definitely be watching to see if Shigunyan's work stays at so high a calibre as this.  

Comic Market 85: Digital Lover / D.L. Action 82 & 83 / Yuka Nakajima

The doujinshi James Brown plunges fast and deep at C85

The hardest-working artist in the ecchi parody doujinshi business, Digital Lover's Yuka Nakajima has started to reveal some of the goods the circle will be featuring for sale at Comic Market 85.  Already once dashed upon the rocks by the sirens of Kantai Collection, Nakajima has thus far revealed a 60cm x 120 cm bath towel featuring two of the Kongou sisters enjoying a good hull-debarnacling, and what looks to be a small desk-sized calendar with super-deformed versions of an assortment of the girls.  If past performance can be used as an indicator of future results, I'll be not at all surprised to see a pair of ero doujin unleashed by the circle between now and then, though what series shall be lampooned is anyone's guess at this time.

Update 1, 9:01 am 12/12/13:  Yuka Nakajima has released more images of the desk calendar her circle will be selling at Comiket 85, and it certainly seems there's far more than just chibified Kanmusu in fans' future.  Many series lampooned by the circle in the past (Index/Railgun, SAO, Evangelion, OreImo, Monogatari) join girls that have yet to receive their own D.L. Action title (Madoka Magica, Attack on Titan), and a few series for which Nakajima designed the characters (Papakiki, Amagi Brilliant Park) on the pages of the calendar.  The only one I can't identify is the one in the bottom left--any helpers out there?

Update 2, 1:43 pm 12/16/13:  The latest reveal of goods offered by Digital Lover at Comic Market 85 showcases that most robust of the Kanmusu, Atago, on a clear file.  Similar to the treatment Shimakaze got at Sunshine Creation 61 in October, Atago's uniform is perfectly intact on the outside, obscuring her post-skirmish condition on the interior.

Update 3, 12:45 pm 12/23/13:  To the surprise of not a single person paying attention, as revealed today by Yuka Nakajima, D.L. Action 82 will indeed return to the waters of the Kantai Collection universe.  Shimakaze's presence carries over from D.L. Action 81, but she's joined on the cover this time by Kongou and the Submarine I-19.  Nakajima seemed to confirm that the same shota inexperienced admiral from the circle's previous Kan Colle parody book will repeat his performance in this edition.

Update 4, 10:12 am 12/27/13:  And there's the surprise release we've come to expect from Digital Lover--time to reach behind the Rock Band drum set, dust off the Nerve Gear, and plug back into the world of Sword Art Online, as Asuna Yuuki graces the cover of D.L. Action 83.  While it seems like forever ago that SAO was in the forefront of fandom's collective mind, it was only back in February 2013 that Asuna last appeared on the cover of a Yuka Nakajima doujin, on Sankuri 58's D.L. Action 74.