• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Comment Policy
    • Disclosures & Disclaimers
  • Resources
    • Links, Essays & Articles
    • Fandomology!
    • CLAMP Directory
    • BlogRoll
  • Features & Columns
    • 3 Things Thursday
    • Adventures in the Key of Shoujo
    • Bit & Blips (game reviews)
    • BL BOOKRACK
    • Bookshelf Briefs
    • Bringing the Drama
    • Comic Conversion
    • Fanservice Friday
    • Going Digital
    • It Came From the Sinosphere
    • License This!
    • Magazine no Mori
    • My Week in Manga
    • OFF THE SHELF
    • Not By Manga Alone
    • PICK OF THE WEEK
    • Subtitles & Sensibility
    • Weekly Shonen Jump Recaps
  • Manga Moveable Feast
    • MMF Full Archive
    • Yun Kouga
    • CLAMP
    • Shojo Beat
    • Osamu Tezuka
    • Sailor Moon
    • Fruits Basket
    • Takehiko Inoue
    • Wild Adapter
    • One Piece
    • After School Nightmare
    • Karakuri Odette
    • Paradise Kiss
    • The Color Trilogy
    • To Terra…
    • Sexy Voice & Robo
  • Browse by Author
    • Sean Gaffney
    • Anna Neatrour
    • Michelle Smith
    • Katherine Dacey
    • MJ
    • Brigid Alverson
    • Travis Anderson
    • Phillip Anthony
    • Derek Bown
    • Jaci Dahlvang
    • Angela Eastman
    • Erica Friedman
    • Sara K.
    • Megan Purdy
    • Emily Snodgrass
    • Nancy Thistlethwaite
    • Eva Volin
    • David Welsh
  • MB Blogs
    • A Case Suitable For Treatment
    • Experiments in Manga
    • MangaBlog
    • The Manga Critic
    • Manga Report
    • Soliloquy in Blue
    • Manga Curmudgeon (archive)

Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Latest Picks

February 6, 2023

Pick of the Week: Get Up, Stand-Up

January 30, 2023

Pick of the Week: Atomic Devastation

LATEST FEATURES, ESSAYS, COLUMNS, ROUNDTABLES, & REVIEWS

February 7, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 5: Avatar of a Goddess, Vol. 2

By Miya Kazuki and You Shiina. Released in Japan as “Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen” by TO Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by quof. It has to be said here: Ehrenfest is absolutely terrifying. I mention this mostly as, to a reader, that may not be the case. We’ve been with Rozemyne since the start of the series, in her home duchy, and we know its people. We also know that she is the equivalent of a human nuclear weapon, and that they’ve been desperately trying to hold her back for the most part. But to lesser duchies (like, say, Jossbrenner, who get the bulk of the short stories here), their meteoric rise has to be explained by evil….

Read More

February 5, 2023 By Anna N

Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet Vols 1 and 2

Tsubaki Chou Lonely Planet Volumes 1 and 2 by Mika Yamamori I enjoyed Yamamori’s Daytime Shooting Star, even though I spent many volumes deeply concerned about the resolution of the age-gap romance in the manga. I can experience those feelings all over again, as the heroine in Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet seems to be headed in that direction as well. Will the charming character designs and humor in this title cause me to tamp down my uneasy feelings about power dynamics in shoujo manga? Quite possibly! Parents in manga have a lot to answer for, what with their habits of abruptly marrying people who come burdened with incredibly cute and charismatic new step-siblings, or their tendency of suddenly abandoning their children for endless overseas trips, or manifesting total financial instability that…

Read More

February 5, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, Vol. 5

By Yuu Tanaka and Nardack. Released in Japan as “Deokure Tamer no Sono Higurashi” by GC Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Yuko C. Shimomoto. It can be very difficult to write a true ‘Slow Life” light novel title. Most of the books that say they’re slow life actually have our hero doing a hell of a lot of magic battles/sword fights/adventuring, with him bemoaning the fact that he’s supposed to have a slow life. On the other hand, genuine slow life books run the risk of being punishingly boring, with our hero describing his rows of tomato plants for 45 pages. A lot of books tend to resolve this with a pile of young women and sexual situations (hi there, Farming Life in Another World),…

Read More

February 3, 2023 By Katherine Dacey

The Manga Review: In Your Ear

This week’s Manga Review is something of a departure. Instead of rounding up links from around the web, I’m focusing primarily on podcasts. On Wednesday, I posted a brief message on Twitter, encouraging other users to recommend their favorite podcasts, or share a few details about their own. The response was enthusiastic, introducing me to more than a dozen new podcasts–well, new to me–that explore the mangasphere from just about every angle, from individual series such as City Hunter and Haikyu! to manga so bad they’re good. (Or at least fun to discuss.) Below, I’ve compiled the results of my survey, but feel feel free to suggest more in the comments; the internet is a big place, and it’s a daunting task to try and find smart conversation about any topic, let…

Read More

February 2, 2023 By Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Ash Brown, Anna N and MJ

Manga the Week of 2/8/23

SEAN: It’s February now, everyone’s least favorite month. Let’s see what’s on tap. ASH: At least it’s short? Which I guess could be both a good and a bad thing… SEAN: We start with Airship, which has one print release, Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 4. And there are early digital releases of Skeleton Knight in Another World 10 and Vivy Prototype 3. Dark Horse Comics has Blade of the Immortal Deluxe Edition 8 and Mob Psycho 100 10. ASH: Still happily double-dipping on that deluxe edition. SEAN: DMP has the 8th Vampire Hunter D manga. ASH: While DMP annoys me for a variety of reasons, I have been known to enjoy this manga series. SEAN: Ghost Ship has a 2nd volume of “too spicy for Viz” Shonen Jump…

Read More

February 2, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 6

By Kouhei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Caleb Cook. I’m not sure if this is the final volume of School Briefs. But it’s certainly the last one to date, coming out in Japan in October 2021. The stories take place in that nebulous period after the internship with Endeavor but before the massive war that takes up the rest of the series. If there is another volume, it may wait till after the main series has ended, as light and fluffy stories really don’t fit with the current plotline, and there’s no “gap” to put them. If this is the final volume, it has the strengths and weaknesses of most MHA spinoffs. It tries to focus on…

Read More

February 1, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

These Legs Don’t Lie! Harumi’s Legacy as the Strongest Mimic, Vol. 1

By Tsuyoshi Fujitaka and Yuunagi. Released in Japan as “Bikyaku Mimic, Harumi-san: Tensei Monster Isekai Nariagari Densetsu” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Chen. Sometimes a new series just doesn’t work out, OK? Leaving aside the actual content of this book, which I will get to eventually, I was informed as I began to read it that it was canceled after only one volume in Japan. Light Novel fans tend to dislike this, but after reading These Legs Don’t Lie Volume 1, I have to think, is another volume really needed? There were not really any horrible cliffhangers, there was no plot we really wanted to see resolved, the characters are not, on the whole, compelling. As a one-shot this was OK…

Read More

January 31, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!, Vol. 4

By You Fuguruma and Nama. Released in Japan as “Kasei Madoushi no Isekai Seikatsu: Boukenchuu no Kasei Fugyou Uketamawarimasu!” by Ichijinsha Bunko Iris NEO. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Hengtee Lim. This series remains ongoing in Japan – both as a light novel series, which has 7 volumes to date, and as a webnovel, last updated 2 weeks ago – which makes it odd that the series really feels like it’s going to be ending in the next book. Most of the drama in this volume involves other people – first there’s the wrap-up of the Annelie and Dennis arc, and then there’s an arc that points out the somewhat rocky relationship between other adventurers and knights. It’s definitely building more of the world that Alec…

Read More

January 29, 2023 By Sean Gaffney

Formerly, the Fallen Daughter of the Duke, Vol. 3

By Ichibu Saki, Nemusuke, and Ushio Shirotori. Released in Japan as “Moto, Ochikobore Koushaku Reijou desu” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Andrew Schubauer. When an author has a favorite character to write for, and you love that character, it’s always a treat whenever they show up. Unfortunately, when they are NOT your favorite character, it cam prove excruciating. This book’s antagonist, Charlotte, has been difficult to read since the start of the series. Clearly she’s also reincarnated from Japan, but we get no details about that except her utter rage at the fact that the route is not going her way. Worst of all, this book features a lot more Charlotte than the first two, and her scenes are a lot harder…

Read More

More Features & Reviews

Primary Sidebar

BLOGS AT MANGA BOOKSHELF

mangablog
a case suitable for treatment

soliloquy in blue
manga critic
manga report

LATEST POSTS – SITEWIDE

  • Ascendance of a Bookworm: I’ll Do Anything to Become a Librarian!, Part 5: Avatar of a Goddess, Vol. 2
  • Pick of the Week: Get Up, Stand-Up
  • Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet Vols 1 and 2
  • A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life, Vol. 5
  • The Manga Review: In Your Ear
  • Manga the Week of 2/8/23
  • My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 6
  • These Legs Don’t Lie! Harumi’s Legacy as the Strongest Mimic, Vol. 1
  • Housekeeping Mage from Another World: Making Your Adventures Feel Like Home!, Vol. 4
  • Pick of the Week: Atomic Devastation

From the Archives

July 3, 2009 By MJ 2 Comments

Color

Color By Eiki Eiki & Taishi Zaou Published by Digital Manga Publishing Buy This ...

[Read More...]

June 15, 2017 By Sean Gaffney 1 Comment

Manga the Week of 6/21/17

SEAN: It’s that time again. Time for this list of titles to take forever, time for your wallet to ...

[Read More...]

October 25, 2017 By Ash Brown

Manga Giveaway: Oresama Teacher Giveaway

The end of October is quickly approaching which means it's time for another monthly giveaway at ...

[Read More...]

December 5, 2016 By Ash Brown

My Week in Manga: November 28-December 4, 2016

My News and Reviews November may have come and gone, but there's still time to enter November's ...

[Read More...]

July 12, 2018 By Sean Gaffney 1 Comment

Manga the Week of 7/18/18

SEAN: Mid-July. It's hot. But there is manga for you. ASH: Yay, manga! SEAN: Bookwalker ...

[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 ...

[Read More...]

MORE DRAMA DIARY

SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

 | Log in
Copyright © 2010 Manga Bookshelf | Powered by WordPress & the Genesis Framework