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The Asterisk War: The Golden Bough Conflagration

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. OK, this took about a year longer than I was expecting it to when I wrote the review of Vol. 15 in February 2021. Part of the reason is that this took a long time to come out in Japan. The complete lack of interior illustrations may tell you why – the artist was ill, and the writer really did not want to change to a different artist. Still, we get a cover! Sylvia is on it! That said, you know what Asterisk War cover appearances are like. Fans of Sylvia will probably be unhappy with this book. The book itself tries to…

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Manga the Week of 12/7/22

SEAN: It’s the most wonderful time of the year! What manga is giving us good cheer? We start with Viz Media. Rainbow Days (Nijiiro Days) is a new Shojo Beat title from Betsuma. The timing on this seems off, as the anime aired in 2016. And it’s a 16-volume series, so get ready to invest. It’s about four boys, all with different ideas about romance. MICHELLE: Huh. Somehow this one had totally escaped my notice. ASH: I’d missed it, too! SEAN: Also from Viz: Black Clover 31, Dragon Ball Super 17, Ghost Reaper Girl 3, Ima Koi: Now I’m in Love 4, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 24, One Piece 101, and Snow White with the Red Hair 22. ASH: I really ought to catch up with Snow White with the…

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The Manga Review, 12/3/2022

If you’re interested in writing about comics for a website that already has a sizable readership, there are a number of great outlets looking for contributors. Nola Pfau, Editor-in-Chief of Women Write About Comics (WWAC), took to Twitter earlier this week to encourage writers submit pitches. WWAC has won three Eisner Awards for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism, and welcomes “pitches from anyone along the marginalized gender spectrum—women, NB, agender, trans men.” You don’t need experience to submit an idea; WWAC prides itself on publishing new voices, and has “a proven track record of training new voices in comics journalism and helping them achieve success at other outlets.” Interested? Take the first step by visiting WWAC’s Pitch Us! page. Also looking for writers is The Fandom Post, which is in need of…

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86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 11: Dies Passionis

By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert. And so we go back to the beginning of the series, and back to the Republic. Honestly, I’m sure many fans would have been perfectly happy to never have to see the republic again. That said, the 86 series is not about giving fans what they want, as the opening epigraph certainly shows. It’s about the horrors of war, what war can do to people as individuals and as a group, and the depths to which people are willing to sink to justify their moral righteousness and cowardice. This book is very well-written, delivering a series of emotional gut-punches. That said, holy Christ, it’s depressing. At the end…

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

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. It’s been about a year since the last volume of this series, and many might be forgiven for thinking that it ended. Including the author, who admits it was supposed to end about here. I mean, in terms of plot threads to resolve, there aren’t many left. Karen is no longer being forced to get married, though the denouement for that may not appeal to her. Elsa’s issues are, for the moment, somewhat resolved. The real world has never really been a big part of this series, but even so, I would not blame the author for wanting to…

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Bookshelf Briefs 11/30/22

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 6 | By Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe| Viz Media – The plotline of this volume is a dungeon crawl of sorts, where the examinees face off against doppelganger versions of themselves. Which is incredibly dangerous given that one of the examinees is Frieren, who is ludicrously overpowered, and therefore her clone is as well. That said, as always the plot is the title, as Frieren is still finding little things every day that remind her of the journey she took so long ago, and now that she’s matured (and most of her comrades are dead) she can finally really appreciate them. This is a series that gets by entirely on ‘vibe,’ and its vibe is fantastic. Everyone should be reading this. – Sean Gaffney…

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My Happy Marriage, Vol. 3

By Akumi Agitogi and Tsukiho Tsukioka. Released in Japan as “Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon” by Fujimi L Bunko. Released in North America Yen On. Translated by David Musto. Good news! After two trauma-inducingly depressing volumes of this series, we finally get a volume of My Happy Marriage that is working towards the title. That’s not to say that this volume is all sweetness and light – honestly, this series is never going to be that, I expect, until the final 5 pages of the last volume. But compared to the first two books, this is a pleasant walk in the park. Indeed, I wonder if the author thought the same thing, given that the entire subplot that is being investigated by Kiyoka seems like something invented to give the…

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The Holy Grail of Eris, Vol. 3

By Kujira Tokiwa and Yu-nagi. Released in Japan as “Eris no Seihai” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird. Boy howdy, this wrapped everything up just the way I wanted. OK, I admit, there was not enough Abigail, but I’ve come to terms with that. (And we also get Kimberly Smith, who is James Bond, as the author admits, and also wonderful.) And unfortunately the plot demanded that Connie essentially be stuck in a cell for the latter half of the book. But this actually turns out to be important as it allows us to see that a) everyone around her knows what a good and forthright person she is, and b) it allows Scarlett to have to take action on her own,…

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Fox Tales

By Tomihiko Morimi. Released in Japan as “Kitsune no Hanashi” by Shincho Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird. After getting a couple of books in the previous few years, this is definitely the year of Tomihiko Morimi in North America. The Tatami Galaxy, one of their most famous works, in finally getting a translation into English next month. Tower of the Sun, their debut work, came out in August (though I did not review it as I read the first 20 pages or so and decided that I hated the protagonist so much I wanted to burn the book). And now we have Fox Tales, a short story collection that came out the same year as The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl. But…

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