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Blue Flag Vol. 2

Blue Flag Volume 2 by KAITO This second volume continues to be strong entry in slice of life high school stories, as everybody gears up for an unexpected performance at a school sports day. They’re doing all the typical things teenagers do in spring, hanging out, getting gelato, and discussing everyone’s love life. Apparently Masumi is dealing with a string of short-lived boyfriends, which Toma finds quite startling. Toma gets peer-pressured into being cheer team captain in addition to being anchor on the relay team, and he agrees on the condition that Taichi and Futuba be on the cheer team too as vice-captains. Taichi is characteristically reluctant, but agrees to go along with Toma’s plan. Toma’s charm is key in winning his friends over. Taichi and Futuba diligently practice together…

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Manga the Week of 7/15/20

SEAN: It’s still hot, there’s still manga. ASH: I’m glad for one of those things. SEAN: Apologies to Kaiten Books, who I forgot to add last week. They had Loner Life in Another World 2 come out digitally. Denpa has the second volume of Pleasure and Corruption. J-Novel Club’s debut is A Wild Last Boss Appeared! (Yasei no Rasubosu ga Arawareta!), a fantasy series where the Overlord has returned after being defeated years ago in a game world. A guy playing the game now finds himself in the Overlord’s body, and has to deal with her return after 200 years. Yes, her. This could be fun or awful, not sure which. They also have the 2nd volume of The Extraordinary, the Ordinary and SOAP!; Lazy Dungeon Master 11; and Sorcerous…

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Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World, Vol. 1

By Ryohgo Narita and Tite Kubo. Released in Japan by Shueisha. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Jan Cash. There have been several Bleach novels released in Japan, but I believe this is the first one to be licensed for the West. Previous books either tended to be novelizations, tie-ins to games, or… well, no, I don’t know why they didn’t pick up We Do (Knot) Always Love You, except shipping reasons. This trilogy, though, is explicitly a direct sequel to the main manga, exploring aftermaths that Kubo couldn’t get to because they cancelled Bleach a bit earlier than expected. Moreover, it’s written by a known name to English-speaking readers: Ryohgo Narita, the creator of Baccano! and Durarara!!. Narita’s series are also known for their huge, hard…

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Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, Vol. 2

By Kumanano and 029. Released in Japan by PASH! Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jan Cash & Vincent Castaneda. Adapted by Will Holcomb. There’s a lot less focus on bear in this second volume of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, mostly because Yuna herself has gotten used to it – at one point she casually names something with a bear motif, showing that unconsciously she’s accepted that’s what she is now. Instead the focus is on Yuna and her general attitude towards everything. Yuna is, in both her own internal narration and dialogue, a grumpy girl with minimal emotional range, and we see lots of that here. That said, the point of the books is to show that Yuna, underneath that, is a caring girl with…

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Kokoro Connect: Asu Random, Part 1

By Sadanatsu Anda and Shiromizakana. Released in Japan by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Molly Lee. Here we are, folks, the final arc of Kokoro Connect. (There’s another short story book after this, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s more of a victory lap than a plot mover.) This one is big enough to be divided into two books. When you finish it you will see why. Everything that the Club has been doing for the last year and a half – every victory, every heartwarming moment, every time they managed to win out and not completely lose it – has now turned into a liability, as it turns out that they’re simply TOO STRONG for Heartseed. And…

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Ao Haru Ride, Vol 11

Ao Haru Ride Volume 11 by Io Sakisaka Throughout this series, nostalgia and feelings of being haunted by the past have come up in a variety of ways, and this volume shows a bit of movement forward on Kou’s part as he goes to visit various sites from his past. He ditches during a school trip where he used to live and induces Futuba to come along with him “as friends.” She comes along, knowing in the back of her mind that she’s lying to herself. Together they visit Kou’s old apartment, middle school, and his mother’s grave. Kou seems much more emotionally resilient, coming out of this nostalgic trip with a greater sense of certainty about what he wants to do and who he wants to spend time with…

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Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town, Vol. 2

By Toshio Satou and Nao Watanuki. Released in Japan as “Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shonen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham. The good news is this is still a very fun series with a lot of laughs and big goofy characters doing silly things. The bad news is that it is not a series that lives and dies on its character development, so I can see myself having trouble stretching reviews out to 500+ words as we go along. Lloyd is still stupidly strong and overpowered and completely unaware of it. He gathers yet more women into his orbit in this book, without remaining remotely aware of it, of course. Marie,…

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Bookshelf Briefs 7/3/20

Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor, Vol. 9 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – Forgot to review the previous volume of this, and may have even forgotten to read it. Honestly, it doesn’t matter, as we begin a new story this volume, finally giving us the backstory of Celica, Glenn’s adopted mother figure and resident mysterious older sister sort. Unfortunately, she quickly learns why we shouldn’t wander into portals that will trigger guardians that want to kill everyone, and it’s up to Glenn and company to save her. This remains decent but not great magical school fantasy. Also, apropos of nothing, Rumi looks a lot like Yotsuba from Quintuplets, right down to the ribbon. – Sean Gaffney Black Clover, Vol. 21 | By…

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The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter, Vol. 1

By Meguru Seto and Takehana Note. Released in Japan by Kodansha Lanove Books. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Tiva Haro. Adapted by Cae Hawksmoor. As I was commenting on Twitter about reading this book, I kept calling it “trash”. And it really is. But wait, it’s not actually bad. In fact, you could do far worse than this kind of trash. But – it’s still trash. The lead is a stock light novel hero, the sort referred to these days as “Potato-kun”. He gathers together a group of young women, all gorgeous, all who are either already in love with him or fall for him almost instantly. His powers essentially rewrite reality to a certain extent, and aren’t powered by MP but rather LP, which means…

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