g e t t i n g a y a s h i n o c e r e s

so where can i get this incredible work of art?

fortunately, there are a number of resources available to most people. ayashi no ceres is not currently being published in english. it is available in japanese, of course, apparently also in chinese, and there is currently an organized translation effort aimed at translating it into english. it was initially published in the bi-weekly shoujo comics manga periodical, but now that the series is finished, the only way to get the manga is to buy the quarterly compilation volumes, called tankoubon. there are 14 volumes, the final one being published in march of 2000. these you can also pick up from your local import retailer, or often order direct from shogakukan.

so what are these 'import retailers' i keep babbling about? well, i can only speak from the viewpoint of an american, being that i am one... nevertheless, this sort of thing seems to be common across the world to one degree or another. many cities have an international district of one sort or another--commonly (and often erroneously) referred to as their 'chinatown'--and these districts often have retailers which specialize in importing japanese merchandise. ours here in seattle is called uwajimaya, and they have an outlet upstairs which is part of a large chain known as kinokuniya (their japanese site is much more informative if you can read it). kinokuniya has many locations in the united states, and many abroad as well.

and they carry manga. lots and lots of manga.

the best part is, if you live near one of their locations they can usually order something for you if they don't have it in stock, which typically takes about three weeks but can sometimes take a few months. they're usually pretty good about looking things up, but it may help if you have the isbn numbers for the volumes you want. shogakukan has them online in their database here, here, and here, but i'll repeat them just in case the link information becomes outdated:

volume 1 :: ISBN4-09-136354-7
volume 2 :: ISBN4-09-136355-5
volume 3 :: ISBN4-09-136356-3
volume 4 :: ISBN4-09-136357-1
volume 5 :: ISBN4-09-136358-X
volume 6 :: ISBN4-09-136359-8
volume 7 :: ISBN4-09-136360-1
volume 8 :: ISBN4-09-137641-X
volume 9 :: ISBN4-09-137642-8
volume 10 :: ISBN4-09-137643-6
volume 11 :: ISBN4-09-137644-4
volume 12 :: ISBN4-09- 137645-2
volume 13 :: ISBN4-09-137646-0

reika has a great deal of good information on her web page about japanese book stores, as does seishin on seishin no ayashi no ceres peeji.