The Lost & Found Collection

Irodori Comics announced that it is launching a Kickstarter campaign for a box set featuring four short stories by acclaimed manga artist Isaki Uta — the creator of the acclaimed manga Is Love The Answer?, which was published in English by Kodansha USA. 

The Kickstarter campaign for the box set Isaki Uta: The Lost & Found Collection is now live and features four of Uta’s most acclaimed stories: Mine-kun is Asexual, Leaper, Mermaid in the Bottle, and Silkscreen. Each of the four stories are available in print for the first time, as well as digitally. 

Here are the details for the four stories featured in the box set: 

Mine-kun is Asexual

Synopsis: 

In “Mine-kun is Asexual,” Mine doesn’t like sexual intimacy in a relationship. He can kiss a girl, but it’s not something he wants to do if he can help it. But Murai loves him so much that she’s willing to overlook the fact that she can’t hold his hand; that she can’t cuddle up next to him when they watch movies together; that she can’t fall in love with him the way that she hopes to be loved in return. In the eyes of those around them, is this even a relationship that’s meant to last, or is it a train wreck just waiting to happen?

Irodori also released four preview pages of the Mine-kun is Asexual manga. 

Leaper

Synopsis: 

Leapers — individuals who were born on February 29th that age at a rate four times slower than that of a normal person and can live for over 300 years. Mio Aono is one of these leapers and like many, experiences all the emotions that come with living beyond the normal, mortal lifespan. This story won an honorable mention in the Monthly Afternoon Magazine Manga Competition and jumpstarted Isaki Uta’s career! Originally published in 2008, this landmark work has been updated and re-released as a doujinshi and localized in English for fans to enjoy.

Mermaid in the Bottle

Synopsis: 

Takeru has always felt like another cog in the wheel of corporate society, but things take a strange turn when he and his sister discover a mermaid inside a cosmetic lotion bottle. Memories of childhood; a brother and sister separated in the aftermath of a failed marriage; corporate money disappearing off the ledgers… Mermaid in the Bottle is Isaki Uta’s tour-de-force first foray into self-publishing and features a unique story looking into the bitter-sweet relationship of a brother and sister with a shared, troubled past.

Silkscreen

A girl falls in love and devotes herself to them, but they don’t conform to her expectations, perhaps because she looks at them through a blurry curtain. Silkscreen touches on a bittersweet romance between a lesbian and a genderqueer individual, who later comes out as a trans man. Those familiar with Isaki Uta’s previous works like Mermaid In The Bottle, Leaper and Mine-kun is Asexual, will know that the author has a unique style of storytelling that leaves a lot to the reader’s interpretation. Silkscreen is a bittersweet story that briefly explores the concepts of identity, rejection, and acceptance.

Isaki Uta is known for their comics centered about characters navigating their experiences and relationship with their gender and sexual identities. Their short stories Mine-kun is Asexual, Silkscreen, and other stories have appeared in the anthology collections Éclair: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart and Éclair Blanche. Is Love The Answer?, which was their first solo work to appear in print in English. 

Source: press release