released the first volume on October 26, 2010; Kodansha USA continued publication of the series, with the final volume published on January 21, 2014. Digital editions of the series have also been published by Kodansha in the United Kingdom. Arisa has also been translated into German by Carlsen Comics. Reception Arisa was positively received by English-language readers. The second, fifth, and sixth volumes each placed on the New York Times Bestseller List for manga. Young Adult Library Services Association placed the first volume of Arisa on its list of "Great Graphic Novels for Teens" for 2011. About.com's Deb Aoki reviewed the first volume of Arisa positively, praising it as "compelling" and "a much darker tale" than Ando's previous work Kitchen Princess; she later placed Arisa on her 2010 list of the "Best New Manga" for the shōjo category. Otaku USA magazine's Danica Davidson agreed that the plot was darker than Kitchen Princess and described the artwork as "pretty and cutesy". According to Matthew Warner of Mania Entertainment, the initially clichéd-seeming characters and plain premise helped to provide a "strong contrast" to the main storyline and "the depraved and twisted nature of Arisa's class". While noting the presence of clichés and "plot holes", Carlo Santos of Anime News Network enjoyed the first volume, describing it as "a shoujo-styled Naoki Urasawa thriller, built upon layers of addictive mystery"; he had mixed feelings about her artwork, writing that it conveyed the plot well, but did not possess a distinct artistic style. In her review of the third volume, Rebecca Silverman, another reviewer for Anime News Network, wrote that while the middle-school setting felt believable and the mystery was intriguing, some aspects of the plot were trying on the reader's suspension of disbelief, and the artwork, though usually enjoyable, failed to be convincingly scary during frightening scenes. In her follow-up review of the eleventh and twelfth volumes, Silverman interpreted Arisa as struggling with Stockholm syndrome and wrote that it was unsettling, as by the conclusion, the character still remained in "an emotionally unhealthy (or even abusive) relationship." She enjoyed the suspense and wrote that Midori's backstory sufficed to explain his actions, concluding "Arisa has been a wild ride, an unexpected horror/mystery shoujo gem." References External links Arisa at Penguin Random House's website 2009 manga Del Rey Manga Kodansha manga Mystery anime and manga School life in anime and manga Shōjo manga