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March Comes in Like a Lion, Vol 1

March Comes in Like a Lion Volume 1 by Chica Umino March Comes in Like a Lion was one of the releases I was most anticipating this year, and it was so worth the wait. The opening panels show Rei Kiriyama waking up, getting ready, going to a shogi hall, playing a game against a man he knows. Throughout this introduction Rei says nothing, and the panels of the shogi game are intercut with scenes from Rei’s childhood. When Rei wins the game and his opponent gets up and mentions that he and his family members are worried for him, Rei waits until he’s alone to say “Liar.” Rei then heads home, just as isolated, but he’s interrupted by a flurry of texts and goes over to the Kawamoto sisters’…

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The Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent, Vol. 8

By Yuka Tachibana and Yasuyuki Syuri. Released in Japan as “Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu” by Kadokawa Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Julie Goniwich. This may sound like a comparison only I would make (because it is), but a lot of Saint’s Magic Power Is Omnipotent is starting to feel like Der Werwolf to me. Specifically, our saint tends to regard herself as just an ordinary researcher who can use ingredients really well, whereas in reality everyone else in the world knows that she’s a… well, a SAINT. Literally, as we see here, as a gift that she gives to a colleague ends up healing permanent burn scars that another woman had on her face. It’s as biblical as they come, frankly, lacking only Sei…

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Manga the Week of 6/7/23

SEAN: Oh dear, June is busting out all over. Better call a plumber. Yen On has two debuts – sort of. They have a deal with J-Novel Club to do print releases of some of their more popular series. As such, debuting in print are Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing and My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me!. Both popular enough to get print, and both very much in a genre that people are vocally divided about these days. ASH: I’m not particularly interested in these specific titles myself, but I do like to see these sorts of publisher collaborations. SEAN: And Yen Press gives us The Case Study of Vanitas 9….

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Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 9

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. Bad news, folks: I think Bofuri may be starting to bore me. This is a combination of several factors, really. The anime decided to speedrun its second season, and as such this volume consists of stuff that I already watched for the first time in a few volumes. This volume is also almost entirely a “kill monsters” book, which means there’s very little for me to talk about and glom on to, and of course no character development. Hell, the nature of this book makes some characters worse – Mii appears throughout, but she’s always surrounded…

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Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, Vol. 3

By Sunsunsun and Momoco. Released in Japan as “Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Matthew Rutsohn. I must admit, I’m growing increasingly frustrated with this series. I really do enjoy the romance bteween Alisa and Masachika, which is cute. And I also definitely like the family drama that is Masachika’s backstory, as well as the “war” he’s currently having with his sister. So basically I like the rom and rthe drama. The problem is the com. This book frequently tries to be funny, adn while the jokes sometimes land, much of the time it’s more annoying than anything else. Masachika thinks in otaku terms a lot, as does his sister, and the conversations the two…

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Bookshelf Briefs 5/30/23

Blue Box, Vol. 4 | By Kouji Miura | Viz Media – We finally tip the balance of this sports romance series back to romance in this volume, as Taiki’s cold means that Chinatsu ends up taking care of him, which leads to standard teen romance manga “I fall on top of you” shenanigans… but this is Blue Box, not Love Hina, so the reactions for both of them are very realistic and incredibly awkward. Chinatsu, unfortunately, is simply not ready for any kind of romance in her life right now, despite what her heart seems to be telling her, and Taiki accepts that for now, I think. As for Hina… hang in there, kid. I think until you get a spare to pair with, you’re pretty screwed. I expect…

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Sasaki and Peeps: The Psychics and the Magical Girl Drag the Death Game Crew into the Fight ~Alert! Giant Sea Monster Approaching Japan~

By Buncololi and Kantoku. Released in Japan as “Sasaki to Pi-chan” by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse. I observed as I was reading this new volume of Sasaki and Peeps that I felt the author had read a lot of the Bakemonogatari Series. Their writing style isn’t anything like NISIOISIN, but this is a story of a guy who saved the world while being surrounded by underage girls, and it also has a tendency sometimes to actively drive its audience away. There’s a scene halfway through the book where Sasaki is trying to rescue the first prince, a rival to Sasaki’s group in the other world, and comes across the aftermath of a sexual assault, which is described in detail. This then…

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High School DxD: Ouroboros and the Promotion Exam

By Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. Released in Japan by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Haydn Trowell. This contains spoilers for the end of Book 11, but not till the third paragraph. High School DxD remains one of the most shonen series ever written, because it’s absolutely filled to the brim with what makes a shonen series – on both sides. On the one side we have the shonen battle manga, with lots of powerful enemies, dealing with almost certain defeat, discovering that the person you just struggled to take out was merely the weakest of the ones you have to fight, etc. It’s the classic old-school “you defeat the bad guy by everyone in the cast shouting the hero’s name in unison as…

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Baccano!: 1935-D Luckstreet Boys

By Ryohgo Narita and Katsumi Enami. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Taylor Engel. At last, we are forced to discuss the elephant in the room. This volume came out in Japan in August 2016, and there has not been another one since. Ryohgo Narita has been battling a lot of health issues. He’s also been writing another Bleach novel series, which was licensed in North America, and an ongoing manga series, which was licensed in North American AND got an anime. And, most importantly, there has been Fate/strange Fake, a light novel spinoff of the super duper popular Fate series, which began in 2014 but has had five new light novels since the last Baccano!, the most recent being this…

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