School of Water Business (Toritsu Mizushou!)
Previous group: Tama-chan Scans
Last release: 12/01/08, no activity from the group on this title. They still have it in their IRC channel though, so you might need to ask them if they definitively dropped it.

Description from Manga-Updates:
Mizushoubai (water business) is the term for Japan's night life activities, such as fuuzoku (similar to prostitution but none of the illegal bits), hosting and managing (entertaining at bars), and kyabakura (night clubs).

Recently, it was decided that a high school should be founded to educate the youth in these areas where they previously had no such guidance: the School of Water Business, "Mizushou", located in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward. The story is from the perspective of a teacher, Tanabe Keisuke, who was transferred there to help teach that school's first generation of students.

The author worked on Salad Days, a rather good drama/romance collection series. He certainly knows how to write good characters, and Toritsu Mizushou is no exception. Despite being in a trade that is generally frowned upon, the teachers and students have a lot of pride, their own demons, their own motivations, and most have a backstory to match why they are in this kind of school. There is a good deal of drama, a good deal of comedy, and the art is detailed.

Series Complete, 22 Total volumes.

-------------------------------

Jouou (Queen)
Previous group: Manga Underground
Last release: 08/19/07 (Dropped according to group's website)

In a similar vein to the previous series, Jouou is in the hostess business. Description from Manga-Updates:
Manager Nashizaki Tatsuya of the Pianissimo Club, wants to build the biggest hostess club in all of Japan; a club where men of all ages and nationalities would want to go. And, along with his big club, a huge event will take place, a contest for the number one hostess, with a prize of 100 million yen. Aya, a freshman, doesn't like the idea of being a hostess, but she has to become one, due to a big debt her parents owe. Encouraged by a friend, she reluctantly joins Pianissimo and, so, her life as a hostess begins.

What makes this series stand out is that cliche plot point, but swapped around. Woman with a family debt is forced into the hostess business, but rather than being saved by some random deus ex machina Prince Charming, she sticks with it. The art is above average, and like a commenter on manga-updates mentions, the series is like a Sports series with hostesses. It is technical and comes off as detailed about aspects of the business even down to the way a hostess must act in order to garner repeat customers (or customers at all).

Series complete, 12 volumes, sequel in progress.

-------------------------------

Rubbers 7
Previous group: BLAH
Last release: 09/06/08 (considered "active" on group's website)

Description from Manga-Updates:
Welcome to Rubbers 7, a small Japanese convenience store with a reputation for some odd owners. Rumors of mob connections and one rather eccentric boss with a passion for Ping-pong tend to keep business low. But when a young, quiet girl is framed for shoplifting and ends up working for the store. Can her touch, with the help of her unusual coworkers, including a shy boy and a drag queen, turn the fortune of the store around?

Slice of life series. I guess the closest thing to compare it to would be something like Working!!. They all have their strange quirks. The art is relatively simple but it has a pleasant style to it, similar to style to something like Usagi Drop (bad OM compression but you get the idea). It's honestly been a while since I read this, but I know I really enjoyed it at the time.

Series complete, 7 volumes.