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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Latest Picks

November 27, 2023

Pick of the Week: Josei and the Street Punk Cats

November 20, 2023

Pick of the Week: An Innocent Manga

LATEST FEATURES, ESSAYS, COLUMNS, ROUNDTABLES, & REVIEWS

November 28, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 11

By Toru Taba and Falmaro. Released in Japan as “Tensai Ouji no Akaji Kokka Saisei Jutsu ~Sou da, Baikoku Shiyou~” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jessica Lange. We’ve always had the backstory of “the college years” simmering through this series, even if we’ve never had an entire book dedicated to it. We get the odd flashback, such as in this volume. First there was Wein and Ninym. Then, gradually, they added Strang, Glen, and Lowellmina. And the five of them pretty much shook the world as a team. Now each of them is deeply caught up in political intrigue as an adult. Wein and Ninym theoretically have it easier. They’re not from the Empire. They don’t have to participate in this throne war…

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November 27, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 12: Holy Blue Bullet

By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert. During the course of reading 86, we’ve been following soldiers who are very, very good at their job. Sometimes that job is simply not dying, but that doesn’t matter. They get the job done, they know what to do, they follow orders, but they also think about what’s behind them. They’re good folks. But of course we’re in the middle of total war right now, and the entire Federation cannot be made up entirely of really fantastic elite soldiers. Someone else has to fill out the ranks, to be bodies or ticks on a ledger. Someone who may not have the right schooling or tactical training, but can…

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November 26, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, Vol. 5

By Hiromu and raemz. Released in Japan as “Chitose-kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka” by Gagaga Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Evie Lund. This has spoilers for the entire volume, sorry. They’ll be after the cover art. We have been slowly working our way through the main female characters of this series. The second volume focused on Yuzuki, the third one Asuka, and the fourth one Haru. The cover of the first volume was Yuuko, but that volume was more an introduction to the entire cast, and the “heroine” of the volume was actually Kenta, the otaku “saved” by Chitose. So we haven’t really had a volume about Yuuko till now. The group seems to revolve around her and Chitose, and much of the time…

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November 25, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online: 5th Squad Jam: Finish

By Keiichi Sigsawa and Kouhaku Kuroboshi, based on the series created by Reki Kawahara. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul. This is the 13th volume of the SAO:GGO series, and I’m pretty sure it has probably gone on longer than Keiichi Sigsawa originally planned it for. The nature of the series, after all, is basically “death game” only for once it really IS a game so we don’t need to worry about death. Which actually helps with the longevity. The cast here is large, and except for our main group we may not remember everyone all that well, but Llenn is not the only one who’s gotten famous, she’s just the poster child. We’ve also grown to see David’s…

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November 24, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Rascal Does Not Dream of His Student

By Hajime Kamoshida and Keji Mizoguchi. Released in Japan as “Seishun Buta Yarou wa My Student no Yume wo Minai” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham. With the first two books in the “college” part of this series, I have struggled to see why it’s been ongoing at all beyond “this is now a franchise with ongoing multimedia, you will write more until we tell you to stop” coming from Dengeki Bunko. With this book, I think I’ve gotten a handle on where this is going, helped out by a much stronger “cover character” than the others, even if she’s far less likeable. The original Rascal books were, for the most part, “a traumatic event in someone’s past displays itself as external…

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November 23, 2023 By Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N and Ash Brown

Manga the Week of 11/29/23

SEAN: The end of November, the start of December, and the time when the stores are far too full. ASH: It can get a bit crowded at times. SEAN: We start with Airship. In print, they’ve got How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 17 and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 3. And for early digital we have The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 5. Cross Infinite World debuts A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy (Oguni no Kōshaku Reijō wa Tekikoku nite Kakusei Suru), a light novel about a woman married off to another country as part of war reparations, who has to fend for herself because everyone seems to hate her. They also have Fluffy Paradise 2 and…

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November 23, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

High School DxD: Supplementary Lesson Heroes

By Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell. I’ve talked before about how difficult I find it to review this series without just constantly saying the same things over and over again. There’s only so many times you can say “this is just combining shonen battle manga with ecchi harem manga” before the audience starts to nod off. And it’s the same with this book. Boy, those sure are some cool fights. They sure do bust out new special moves they got after training hard. And yeah, Issei really likes tits, news flash, film at 11. With this one I thought I’d have a bit more to work with, given the last volume ended with…

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November 22, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Haibara’s Teenage New Game+, Vol. 5

By Kazuki Amamiya and Gin. Released in Japan as “Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Esther Sun. In my review of the last book I mentioned that I was not entirely sure where the series would be going after this, since it seemed to end so decisively with the fourth volume: Natsuki has confessed to Hikari, rejected Uta as best he could, and also done a “God Knows” musical moment on the crowd. But of course, having a fulfilling high school life is the goal that he had when he went back in time, and romance is not the only thing in high school. That said… it is a pretty big thing. The Fellowship is still a bit…

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November 21, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!, Vol. 4

By Reina Soratani and Haru Harukawa. Released in Japan as “Kondo wa Zettai ni Jama Shimasen!” by Gentosha Comics. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Molly Lee. Adapted by Lorin Christie. As I was reading the previous two volumes of this series, I was starting to get very disturbed by Yulan’s obsession with Violette, mostly as he’s clearly also meant to be the main love interest. That doesn’t really change all that much in this volume, at least on his end. That said, after reading this volume, I think I’ve changed my mind. Yes, Yulan and Violette are totally codependent, and, amazingly, they also have a maid who is also codependent to Violette along for the ride. But if it gets Violette out of this house, away from…

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LATEST POSTS – SITEWIDE

  • The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 11
  • Pick of the Week: Josei and the Street Punk Cats
  • 86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 12: Holy Blue Bullet
  • Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, Vol. 5
  • Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online: 5th Squad Jam: Finish
  • Rascal Does Not Dream of His Student
  • Manga the Week of 11/29/23
  • High School DxD: Supplementary Lesson Heroes
  • Haibara’s Teenage New Game+, Vol. 5
  • I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!, Vol. 4

From the Archives

August 24, 2009 By MJ 4 Comments

Recommendations for NETCOMICS Sale!

Ongoing until August 27th, a whole slew of NETCOMICS titles are on sale at Right Stuf and I see a ...

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December 14, 2015 By Ash Brown

My Week in Manga: December 7-December 13, 2015

My News and Reviews Okay! Last week I submitted my promotion dossier at work, which means I'll be ...

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January 25, 2017 By Ash Brown

Manga Giveaway: Please Tell Me! Galko-chan Giveaway

I realize that it's the end of the month rather than the beginning, and that I've probably already ...

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September 28, 2016 By Ash Brown

Manga Giveaway: Yona of the Dawn Giveaway

The end of September is almost here, which means it's once again time for Experiments in Manga's ...

[Read More...]

November 11, 2013 By Ash Brown

My Week in Manga: November 4-November 10, 2013

My News and Reviews Last week I announced the winner of the Sankarea manga giveaway. The post ...

[Read More...]

More Posts from the Archives

DRAMA DIARY

By Anna N

Skip Beat! the drama

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

[Read More...]

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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MORE DRAMA DIARY

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