Hello, I’m Hats aka Mimi, Stiletto Heels’ Admin slash Head Translator. In reality, I’m just an oddball who went to sleep with headphones and a pair of dusty New Balance sneakers on. If it wasn’t for that darn water bug that went stealth ninja mode in my bedroom!
Water bugs occasionally sneak into our house during the summer. One was crawling its way toward my bed. My ears still twitch from remembering the sound of it rustling over the loose mail that was scattered on the carpet. *rubs ears* When I turned on the lamp, it disappeared. When I turned it off, it creeped back. By the fourth time, to my horror, it was gone without a trace. I glanced at my alarm clock – 4 AM! My eyes were like washed up sandbags. I was drooping over the side of the bed from exhaustion. So as a precaution I shimmied my feet into my sneakers and put my headphones on to cover my ears and went to sleep. I figured it couldn’t burrow its way into my ears if I didn’t wake up, but if I did, I’d at least have my shoes on to stomp the hell out of it.
Yep, that’s me. And I’m supposed to be in charge of this team? Hah. More like everyone ELSE here is helping making me look like I’m doing a decent job. Thanks, Team.
We began with very humble origins – A whimsy, a fancy. There were already plenty of bigger and badder Shoujo and Josei groups around, and the uprising of manga aggregator leech- err, I mean, sites – didn’t make things easier. In terms of popularity, the Bigger Players were comparable to SBS’s 2015 star-studded Producers, while we would be TvN’s Ex-Girlfriend Club. And if we were to compare ourselves to characters in the drama, the Bigger Players would be the sexy, glamorous Exes, and we would be the plain and naive Kim Soo-Jin.
Ironically, that would suggest that we were the ones donning those metaphorical “sneakers”.
But we were happy in our own humble way. We really were.
Sure, we went through some rough patches. When my pillars of support, Mizi and iamdea retired, staff disappeared, and RL problems reared its ugly head, I threw in the towel. I was only a translator, I thought. I had no clue how to run a scanlation team! When I should have raised my head defiantly or held on while being dragged, kicking and screaming, how could I have let go of Bitou Lollipop or Heart o Uchinomese! – How?
But after the dust settled, I crawled out, and who did I glimpse standing atop the rubble like Amazonian warriors? None other than Minelauva, SwirlyOwl, Megan, octopush, Badz and that mysterious ninja woman Lilanar. We knew then that it was time to wave goodbye to the old Heels and usher in the new.
We still cared just as much about what we were doing – Yep, even Tokyo Alice – but we got our priorities straight this time. Our goal wasn’t to compete but to share manga we loved. And once we stopped comparing ourselves to those Bigger Players, it gave us relief. We were happy, and it showed.
Our labor of love finally paid off. Look at all the new staff and all these great releases! When Aerial, Avelys, jyuu viole grace, skippyskippy, and Zakkyliar burst onto the scene like the keyboard-swinging superheroes they are – “Never fear, Kickass Typesetters are here!” – that’s when it all just clicked into place. The sound of a key opening the lock. I knew it felt right because even though a lot of sucky stuff happened in-between, we still have some good times together.
So Heels Team, here’s 7 years to you! *raises glass* All of you! Whether retired staff or current staff or just passing by freelancer staff. We came this far because of all your help, and we’ll continue on because of you. So maybe we’re not as big as we had once hoped to be, but that’s OK. 7 years is one hell of a long and winding road, but we’ve already come this far together, haven’t we? And hey, guess what? I think I can aaaaalmost spot that “decade” mark just around the corner…
There’s not enough space to mention everyone here, and I’m sorry for that. You are all very dear to me. I know some of you who are going through really tough times right now. Thank you for trusting in me enough to come to me with your personal problems. I have my share of woes, which I get to share with readers, so the burden feels less. You’re having it harder than me, I know. Still, allow me to keep on encouraging you, You Know Who You Are…
If further down the road, things come up and we can’t be together anymore, just know that all of you are still THE most ADORKABLY cutest people I have ever met online. These memories will never go away. I keep them folded inside me.
And now that the cheese-fest is over, ja-jaan. Releases for you:
Ch.02 DDL | Read Online Some background info is always nice. Benzo and Souji are shrouded in mystery: Where did they come from? What is the purpose of their journey? Let’s dial back in time a little and revisit their past, shall we?
Ch.23 and Side Story DDL | Read Online OK, so Shima is not as naive about relationships and stuff that happens in it as I thought she would be… That’s my girl! Now I hope she ditches Kana-yan because there ain’t nothing but heartache ahead for these two. I’m sure the sad fate of Shima’s mother’s latest failed relationship will give her a nice wake up call.
Ch.05 DDL | Read Online
Seriously, I feel bad for Su-chan. Doesn’t he have anybody else to talk to besides a ghost?
Ch.06 DDL | Read Online
OK, I can’t even… (ヾﾉ꒪ཫ꒪ )
Ch.09 DDL
Ch.10 DDL | Read Online So we promised you the last two chapters of Volume 2, and we’re here to deliver them. Gotta thank TairaBox for filling in the role of translator, and Megan and zakkyliar for editing four amazing chapters. We’re now teaming up with Futago Translations for the next volume, so we hope to bring more chapters to you soon!
We’re one release shy of the 7 we had hoped for, but we’re damn close, right? A few chapters needed to be held back, which includes the final installment of Ueno Ai’s Himawari. jyuu viole grace, I promise I won’t let your work go to waste! ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ We’ll see you again with them in August!
\\ Credits go to yoonmin, iaehyuns and shura @tumbler and Viki for the gifs.\\
Thank you, thank you for Tsukikage Baby! I love it, and you guys do a great job of making it so pleasant to read. I look forward to seeing more of it in the future!!
Happy Birthday – 7 years is quite a long time!
Congrats and happy birthday to my favorite group! The projects are wonderful, the work is marvelous, and the posts are charming (and you all seem like such nice people). 🙂 I especially love and am supremely grateful for the new updates for Futago (omg omg it’s back, and, oh, I want to hug all of them!), Principal, Futagashira, and Torch Song Ecology (is this going to break my heart?? I don’t know but I’m still in it for the long haul). Thank you so much for everything you do and for all the time and effort you put into making them such outstanding releases. I always look forward to the updates of my favorite series–and really, I read and enjoy pretty much everything you do, so that says a lot. I was also perusing your projects pages, and there are SOOO many I’m excited to see: Trap Hole, Sapuri, Shinkuu Katakoi, Meoto Safari, etc. I think there are great things in store for Stiletto Heels, and I wish the group, and all of the staff individually, the best in all the years to come!
Also, anybody see the Futagashira drama? I’m thinking I want to watch it, but I’m wondering if it’ll spoil the manga for me, or make me more excited about it, especially as the second season is approaching. Hmm.
I saw part of it, and I feel that it’s different enough to be watched at the same time as reading the manga. They cut out ALOT from the source material. That said, I love Kenichi Matsuyama in everything so I’m a little biased. Ok, not everything. I was bored with that amnesia movie with Horikita Maki. See? It’s so bad I can’t even remember the title! Anyway the drama really captured the mood of the manga but added another dimension to it. It used a lot of black and blue hues, seasoned actors, and nice costumes.
I would recommend watching it even though it may spoil a few things because it’ll drum up some anticipation…
i come here specifically to thanks you guys on futago, torch song, and toribako update after long break. thanks guys for those and all of other manga too
Congratulations on your 7th birthday! You really do have the best selection of josei and shoujo I’ve seen in my entire life. Honestly. I don’t even care if it takes you a while to get stuff released. I’m just glad that they’re out there and that I will get to read them eventually. Keep up the good work and here’s to another seven more wonderful years wooooooooooo (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
My personal goal is to get translations out faster so that staff won’t have to wait and wait for stuff to do. We definitely will aim to be faster and more thorough this year. *sounding like a broken record*
But thanks for the encouraging words. They mean a lot to us as a team!
thanks! i always look forward to ya’ll’s releases B)
Wow, the 7 yr landmark made me just realise that its been a decade since I discovered manga, even though I havent been actively reading for 3 yrs now… yet I remember this group from time to time n check back here for updates.
I love your projects- Bitou lollipop and Natsuyuki rendevous introduced me to their wonderful mangakas. Any chance of you working on Shinkuu katakoi pack or tenshi no tamago? I think I saw them in your projects page long back. Anyways, heres wishing you guys stay active for a long time. ^_^
We’re working on both projects and they’ll be out in the near future actually. Tenshi after Futago ends and Shinkuu after Sekine ends. 🙂
Congrats to your 7th birthday as a group, and thank you so much for all your work! You guys always manage to scanlate series that I like, so I am happy to see that you are alive and kicking.
I am looking forward to the next chapters of Toribako house and Tsukikage Baby!
Hello, first time commenting here – just wanted to wish Stiletto Heels a happy 7th anniversary/birthday! Thank you for all your hard work and time invested in each series. 🙂
I’m reading Tsukikage Baby via the online reader, and the first page of chapter 9 – what series is that image from? (Girl massaging guy’s shoulders.)
It’s one of a series of artwork called Honobono Log and is being turned into an anime.:)
Thank you!
*Throws confetti-love at Stiletto team*
Happy seventh birthday !!
I am just passing by to say THANK YOU sooo much ! So many translating group could have given up with all mangafox etc making it hard for you to have recognization but your are still here translating awesome mangas that are unvailable anywhere else (PRINCIPAL and SEKINE KUN NO KOI) Those two are on the top of my list of favourite manga ever so I could never express how much I love you for translating them 🙂 🙂 All my wish for this new year of existence !! YOU ARE THE BEST FOREVA 😀
Stiletto Heels is after all more than just a manga scanlation factory. Where ever I go, even when I get miles away from my photoshop, I still find my way back and before I know it, I’m sitting there straightening the pages and removing dust specks on white and black. -_-;; The story and the gifs were just so sweet to read and watch, Hats. That drama, girl!! (Dunno how to react to ninja though…) LOL. Big cheers to all old and new Amazonian warriors!! Many people came to the team and helped during those years and had to quit ’cause of RL issues. Of course it’s impossible to name everyone. And many new members have also come to help and we’re getting to know them little by little.
You just try to go under the dust again and we’ll pull you out by your feet… and celebrate the anniversaries to come just the Amazonian way! Hoho
Your editing skills make you worthy of the ninja title. We need to bestow upon you an honorary Editing Ninja belt hahaha. The kind pro-wrestlers in Mexico wear. *dies from laughter*
I’ve always considered this scanlation group my favorite! You have an amazing taste when choosing mangas to translate and your work is very good 🙂 and on top of that, whenever there’s a release, i never read the manga before i finish to read the post hahah Happy birthday! Long live the Heels team.
What an emotional roller coaster! I work for the best group around – hands down. I look forward to another awesome year with you guys!
Hear, hear! (*￣▽￣)旦 且(´∀｀*)
Thank you stilettoheels team for fast and high quality release. Hatsu- sama could you tell me from wchich drama are these gifs?
Ex-Girlfriend Club starring Song Ji-Hyo and Byun Yo-Han. It’s a must-see kdrama! Once you get to Ep 5, prepare heart meds from cuteness overload, lol
Now im watching “Another oh hae young” when i finish it im going to watch, thanks 🙂
Is that guy Eric from Shinhwa?? I’m relatively new to kdrama and kpop culture, but his face looks so familiar!
Before this Hallyu Wave thing, I was listening to korean music on the radio in the early 2000’s, but anime kind of overshadowed my interests and it never really took off again until now… Thanks to Running Man, I guess.
Recc me some good dramas! I’m always open to suggestions. 😀
Yes Eric is the main cast. Im in the middle and so far is interesting. My favourite drama is Secret Garden. Im also recommending “Innocent Man”, “Rich Man Poor Woman”, “Bad Boy”, “Two Weeks”, “I miss you” , “Respond 1997”, “Coffee Prince”.
Yes Eric is the main cast. Im in the middle so far and its interesting. My favourite drama is “Secret Garden”. Im recommending to watch “Innocent Man”, “Rich Man Poor Woman”, “Marriage Not Dating”, “Bad Boy”, “Two Weeks”, “Respond 1997”, “Coffee Prince”, “9 end 2 Outs”, every kind under the sun.
Another chapter of Futagashira so soon!? Amazing~ And Torch Song, just when I was beginning to fear you guys might have gotten tired of it for good.
Thanks very much! Happy 7th, and may you have many more!
filli came just in the nick of time. A wonderful typesetter willing to work on abandoned Nina projects… *cries tears of joy* Expect more Torch Song in the near future. ✌