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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Latest Picks

September 25, 2023

Pick of the Week: It’s 2009 at Manga Bookshelf

September 18, 2023

Pick of the Week: Modern Dracula

LATEST FEATURES, ESSAYS, COLUMNS, ROUNDTABLES, & REVIEWS

September 26, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 10

By Yuumikan and KOIN. Released in Japan as “Itai no wa Iya nano de Bōgyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham. Good news! This is a far stronger volume of Bofuri than the previous two were, and I think I can see why: the last book I really enjoyed was also pretty much just Maple and Sally, with the others barely appearing. I definitely enjoy the rest of the guild, there’s nothing wrong with them. But something about the main duo of the series causes the author to up their game. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s no major character development for Maple here or anything, she’s pretty much the same. (Sally… well, I’ll get to Sally.)…

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September 25, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

A Pale Moon Reverie, Vol. 2

By Kuji Furumiya and Teruko Arai. Released in Japan as “Tsuki no Shirosa o Shirite Madoromu” by DRE Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Jason Li. This is very much a book of two halves – literally, of course, because this author’s books are always 2-in-1 omnibuses, but also figuratively. The first half of the book is very much in the horror vein, as Sari and Xixu try to figure out why all of a sudden courtesans are closing their businesses and moving out of the city – and why everyone seems to be 100% OK with it. It’s an “eerie mind control” mood. Then we get the second half of the book, which runs on pure frustration at the two leads. I’m used to book…

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September 24, 2023 By Katherine Dacey

The Manga Review: Didn’t It Rain

Congratulations to Lianne Sentar, who was just promoted to a new position at Seven Seas Entertainment: publisher! She’s done a little bit of everything in the manga industry—writing Sailor Moon novels for Tokyopop, freelancing as an editor, starting her own publishing company—and seems like a perfect fit for the job. In other news, Scholastic will be launching its Graphix Manga line with an adaptation of Unico… Studio Ghibli has been acquired by Nippon TV… and a Delaware parent took a public stand on behalf of her kids’ after-school manga club. At issue was the principal’s decision to limit members’ access to manga rated “T” or older, which he felt were inappropriate for middle-school readers. Jennifer Antonik disagreed, and started a petition at Change.org to pressure the school to reverse course. AROUND…

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September 24, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 13

By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham. There have been quite a few antagonists over the course of this series, but, with the exception of a few, they’ve mostly been pathetic mooks whose job it is to get humiliated and destroyed by Lloyd. That said, this is not a series that is really interested in killing off its villains, for the most part, so something had to happen to them. Why not a high-security prison? Because, of course, Last Dungeon Kid also enjoys making fun of various types of cliched plotlines, and “prison break story” is certainly…

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September 23, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

The Saga of Tanya the Evil: Mundus Vult Decipi, Ergo Decipiatur

By Carlo Zen and Shinobu Shinotsuki. Released in Japan as “Youjo Senki” by Enterbrain. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Richard Tobin. As we get to the beginning of the end of this series, it’s worth looking at something we’ve discussed before: which world war is this? Tanya states clearly in this book she thinks she’s still in “the first war”, but is also very much fighting communism of a Stalinist rather than Leninist vein. We also have a clear Churchill analogue, as well as Lavrentiy Beria, who remains easily the most disturbing of all of Tanya the Evil’s disturbing villain characters. That said, given that this is a war fought with magic, I perhaps should not worry about it too much. In this particular war, the…

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September 21, 2023 By Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown

Manga the Week of 9/27/23

SEAN: Better wake up, September’s ending. ASH: Somehow I thought it was both October already and too early for October… SEAN: No debuts for Yen, but a few “got bumped one week” books. Yen On has The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 5.5, Defeating the Demon Lord’s a Cinch (If You’ve Got a Ringer) 5, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 4, and Maiden of the Needle 2. And Yen Press have No Longer Heroine 4, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 3, Sasaki and Miyano 9, and Shy 4. MICHELLE: I should get back to No Longer Heroine. SEAN: Viz has the Chainsaw Man Box Set, a collection of the first 11 volumes with a color poster. And almost 15…

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September 21, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted the Perfect Saint? Too Bad!, Vol. 2

By kabedondaikou and Yunohito. Released in Japan as “Risō no Seijo? Zannen, Nise Seijo Deshita! Kuso of the Year to Yobareta Akuyaku ni Tensei Shitanda ga” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Rymane Tsouria. “Would you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage”, philosophers once said. It’s something that feels very relevant to this second volume of Fake saint, where a large chunk of it is taken up with locking Ellize in her bedroom forever because that way she won’t defeat the witch, won’t become the next witch, and the kingdom can be at peace. It’s a transparently stupid decision that ends up failing almost immediately, but the book at least shows us why so many people…

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September 19, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Savior’s Day of Rest

By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian. I’ve talked before about how at times I am unhappy with the story the author is telling, preferring that he tell the story of Allen and Lydia’s awesome life in the past, which we have been getting dribbled onto us in bits and babs, making us confused but also making us long to have been there. There’s more of that here, including Lily talking about her own past with Allen (and the implications of why she is super duper uber powerful and talented and yet is so determined to be a maid). But of course, the protagonist of this series is not…

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September 17, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

The Asterisk War: The Grand Finale

By Yuu Miyazaki and okiura. Released in Japan as “Gakusen Toshi Asterisk” by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell. The Asterisk War has always been a series that not only speaks in cliches, but revels in them. There is not a single original bone in its body, and I think the author knows that and is unapologetic. That applies very much to this final volume, which is half a volume of fighting and half a volume of epilogue, complete with a “where are they now?” flashforward. We get Ayato saying that he won’t kill Madiath Mesa as that would mean becoming like him. We also get Madiath Mesa committing suicide, because the author is not Ayato. We get to see Saya casually…

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LATEST POSTS – SITEWIDE

  • Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 10
  • Pick of the Week: It’s 2009 at Manga Bookshelf
  • A Pale Moon Reverie, Vol. 2
  • The Manga Review: Didn’t It Rain
  • Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 13
  • The Saga of Tanya the Evil: Mundus Vult Decipi, Ergo Decipiatur
  • Manga the Week of 9/27/23
  • Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted the Perfect Saint? Too Bad!, Vol. 2
  • Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Savior’s Day of Rest
  • Pick of the Week: Modern Dracula

From the Archives

July 17, 2012 By Derek Bown 5 Comments

Combat Commentary: Naruto (The Entire Series)

You know what the most disappointing thing is about Naruto? It's not the story that's stagnated ...

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October 24, 2008 By MJ 2 Comments

Tales of Awesome

Yesterday began on a pretty depressing note. Groggy and cranky after a night of poor sleep, I ...

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May 15, 2017 By Ash Brown

My Week in Manga: May 8-May 15, 2017

My News and Reviews The Bookshelf Overload for April was posted at Experiments in Manga last ...

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December 31, 2015 By Sean Gaffney 1 Comment

Manga the Week of 1/6

SEAN: For a first week of the month, this is pretty mild. And by mild I mean there’s still 17 ...

[Read More...]

June 13, 2012 By Sean Gaffney

Manga the Week of 6/20

Eep. You may look at what's coming out next week and think it's a first week of the month. There ...

[Read More...]

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DRAMA DIARY

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Skip Beat! the drama

I recently marathoned 14 episodes of the Tawainese live action version of Skip Beat! which is airing now on ...

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By Anna N

Drama Diary: IRIS Episodes 1-5

I tend to watch mostly romantic comedies when I am viewing k-drama, but IRIS is a bit different. This is a ...

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