Manga Bookshelf

May 23, 2022 By Sean Gaffney

No Game No Life, Vol. 11

By Yuu Kamiya. Released in Japan by MF Bunko J. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Richard Tobin. The general rule of thumb when reading a volume of No Game No Life is to ignore anything that is not directly related to the plot or character development. and yes, this means you are ignoring about 85% of each book. This volume in particular is filled with pointless fanservice, cringey cliches, and more situations and art that remind you why this series got Amazon banned (though, again, this new volume is still there). When you get past all that, you’re essentially left with two things. First of all, the fact that [ ] actually lose for the first time in the series… and they’re not too sure how…

May 22, 2022 By Sean Gaffney

86 –Eighty-Six–, Vol. 10: Fragmental Neoteny

By Asato Asato and Shirabii. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Roman Lempert. First of all: yes, it’s a short story collection. And, for the most part, it’s entirely about Shin, so if you’re looking for the others, well, you’ll only get them as we get closer to the end of the book. These stories are meant to fill in a bit of the gap between Shin being sent off t war and where we joined his story in the first volume. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Isn’t this just an excuse to write a bunch of grimdark stuff where people are nice to Shin and then die horribly?” And hey, that’s just rude. There are also people that are…

May 21, 2022 By Sean Gaffney

My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer, Vol. 4

By MOJIKAKIYA and toi8. Released in Japan as “Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S-Rank ni Natteta” by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia. Easily the best in the series to date, despite the fact that we’re now at the second round of “I have gotten everything planned out to see my dad again but something comes along to screw it up at the last minute”. Angeline is still a big-time Daddy’s Girl, but she’s put into a situation where that’s mostly irrelevant, and when it is relevant she actually manages to use it as a force for good. Belgrieve is finally forced to admit to himself that he may actually be as good at fighting as Angeline…

May 20, 2022 By Katherine Dacey

The Manga Review, 5/20/22

This year’s Eisner nominations have just been announced. In the Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia category, VIZ Media garnered five of the six nominations with crowd-pleasers such as Chainsaw Man and Spy x Family, while Seven Seas nabbed one for Robo Sapiens: Tales of Tomorrow. The only other manga nominated for an Eisner was Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, which is competing in the Best Humor Publication category. Also nominated for an Eisner is Eike Exner’s Comics and the Origins of Manga: A Revisionist History, which was published by Rutgers University Press last year. MANGA NEWS Big news from Seven Seas! The company has just launched two imprints: Seven Seas BL, which will publish works in the BL/Boys’ Love genre, and Seven Seas GL, which will publish works in the GL/Girls’ Love…

May 20, 2022 By Sean Gaffney

The Apothecary Diaries, Vol. 5

y Natsu Hyuuga and Touko Shino. Released in Japan as “Kusuriya no Hitorigoto” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Kevin Steinbach. For the most part, this is something of a transitional volume of The Apothecary Diaries, at least until the end. While Maomao is no longer at the palace, she’s still very much involved in everyday life, and now she has a little boy to look after (who proves to be quite an artist). There are several interlinking plots, one of which is likely to stick around – there’s a potential famine on the way, which was figured out by the fact that there are more grasshoppers than locusts around, something I absolutely did not know, so kudos there. Maomao even finds time to…

May 19, 2022 By Katherine Dacey

Sakamoto Days, Vol. 1

The opening pages of Sakamoto Days unfold with ruthless efficiency: in just a handful of panels, author Yuto Suzuki shows us how twenty-two-year-old Taro Sakamoto, once Japan’s most “feared and revered” hit man, became Mr. Sakamoto, twenty-seven-year-old husband, father, and shopkeeper. Though Sakamoto seems content being the neighborhood jack-of-all-trades, his former associates view him as a potential threat, dispatching Shin the Clairvoyant to kill him. Shin appears to have the upper hand in this contest–he’s younger, fitter, and, as his name suggests, telepathic–but Sakamoto quickly subdues Shin with a bag of cough drops and a well-timed kick, leaving Shin gasping for breath–and, oddly, eager to join forces with his old rival. This initial encounter highlights Suzuki’s strengths and weaknesses as a storyteller. In the plus column is Suzuki’s ability to…

May 19, 2022 By Sean Gaffney, Michelle Smith, Anna N, Ash Brown and Melinda Beasi

Manga the Week of 5/25/22

SEAN: It’s only the end of May but the heat here is making it feel like mid-July. What about the manga? Well… The debut from Yen On is Warlords of Sigrdrifa Rusalka, a light novel based on the popular anime series. As with a lot of other anime series, humanity is under siege and only badass but also very attractive women can save us. ASH: I mean, I do like badass women… SEAN: Also from Yen On: The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 2, High School DxD 7, High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World! 6, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 12, Magical Girl Raising Project 13, The Saga of Tanya the…

May 19, 2022 By Sean Gaffney

The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?), Vol. 9

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. As we’ve now gone through about nine volumes of this series, it’s good to remember that the initial premise was that Wein was trying various ways to abdicate his responsibilities, and failing for the most part because a) he’s too good at his job, and b) he won’t do it if it means the people of Natra suffer. For the last few books, that’s mostly been forgotten, to the point where the title almost seems archaic. But this book reminds us that yes, Wein really does not want to be running his country, and he is…

May 18, 2022 By Sean Gaffney

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride, Vol. 13

By Fuminori Teshima and COMTA. Released in Japan as “Maou no Ore ga Dorei Elf wo Yome ni Shitanda ga, Dou Medereba Ii?” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki. This is a long book. I’m not sure if it’s the longest in the series, but it has to be pretty close. Which is good, as the whole book is basically one giant battle scene, and length gives me more things to attempt to talk about other than “mmm, fight good”. It helps that we see pretty much the entire cast here, heroes, villains, and the morally grey area in between that is the majority of the group. Shere Khan finally gets a chance to try to be the Big Bad, but in the…

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