Front Mission: It Keeps Going and Going and Going…

Hello everyone!

There’s been internal changes going on with the team as of the past few months, so don’t expect to hear much from the original founders of the project. You could say the Front Mission: Series Translation Project is in the hands of new management… Anyways, I’m Dave. I’m an avid fan of Front Mission since the original Front Mission days and was lucky enough to get a chance to work in Japan to indulge myself in the whole shebang too! I’m not really into forum posting and all, but when I heard of this project I couldn’t help but follow it. And after some back-and-forth communications with the FMSTP team, I now have the fortune (or misfortune!) of being the project’s main spokesperson. I’m not sure what I can say I’ll bring to the table, but I’m well versed on my Front Mission stuff and in some cases, even more so than the folks who started up this project!

Well then, for some new updates, check these pictures out…

As you can see, these pictures are about the Front Mission Dog Life & Dog Style seinen (adult in Japan-speak) manga (comics in Japan-speak too!). I’m sure you’ve heard of this series before in some ways and of course, through the FMSTP. What you may not know is that this is the only thing left from the Front Mission brand in Japan that’s still active. And not just any ordinary thing – it’s a perennial favorite of people who read the Japanese seinen publication Young Gangan and a perennial best-seller as far as manga goes! The last project of the Front Mission Project line and written by Yasuo Otagaki of Moonlight Mile fame, the Dog Life & Dog Style seinen is an original storyline which revolves around people who get caught up in the Second Huffman Conflict. Well, I can’t really say it focuses exclusively on the imaginary Huffman Island since it’s been focusing less on that and more on world conflicts which hit close to home for some. Anyways, the seinen has been a huge hit in Japan and has done so well in sales that Square-Enix authorized South Korea releases of it in fall of 2010. Not sure it will ever make it outside of Asia though…but I digress.

Since 2007, Front Mission Dog Life & Dog Style has become one of Young Gangan’s top 5 seinen series and frequently receives color treatment for new chapters. Those same new chapters are almost always on the front end of a magazine issue and in the case of Young Gangan 2011 No.13, it’s the very first one you see! Dog Life & Dog Style also graces  the front covers of the magazine once again, just in time for the release of…Front Mission Dog Life & Dog Style 07! The latest omnibus volume collecting several chapters of the Style 7: Return of the Shepperd was a huge sell on Japanese book retailers and Amazon Japan. How huge? Well, just a mere day before its release on June 25, it was already sold out from pre-orders alone. On June 25 itself, it was temporarily restocked before being sold out again and debuted in the top 5 of all new manga for that week itself! And in its debut it trounced both the newest omnibus volumes of Dragon Quest Emblem of Lot ~Heirs to the Arms~ (a very popular spin-off of Dragon Quest) of Fullmetal Alchemist: Complete Edition (Square-Enix’s most popular manga)!

Almost a week since its release, Front Mission Dog Life & Dog Style 07 has been rock-solid within the Top 8 best-selling manga from Square Enix’s line on Amazon Japan. With rave reviews of its trademark story qualities and huge sales, this is a remarkable sign that Front Mission just refuses to die even after the end of the original story, and after an underwhelming Front Mission Evolved release in fall of 2010. And the best part of all this is that the series is not even close to being finished! Like the Energizer Bunny, Front Mission keeps going and going and going…