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The Manga Revue, 6/18/18

Twice the reviews! Twice the links! This week’s Manga Revue is bigger and badder than the last one, as I weigh in on the latest installments of The Promised Neverland and Silver Spoon, and round up manga review links from around the web. Before I get down to talking about The Promised Neverland and Silver Spoon, however, I want to warn the spoiler-averse reader that it’s impossible to discuss either series without divulging a few plot details. Caveat lector! The Promised Neverland, Vol. 4 Written by Kaiu Shirai, Illustrated by Posuka Demizu Translated by Satsuki Yamashita VIZ Media Rated T+, for older teens Though volume three was saddled with too many contrived plot twists, volume four is a return to form, briskly setting the kids’ escape in motion. The pace occasionally flags when Emma, Ray, and Norman explain the…

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A Certain Scientific Railgun, Vol. 13

By Kazuma Kamachi and Motoi Fuyukawa. Released in Japan as “Toaru Kagaku no Railgun” by ASCII Media Works, serialization ongoing in the magazine Dengeki Daioh. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Nan Rymer, Adapted by Maggie Danger. I’ve talked before about how the Railgun manga is far more tied into its parent than most other spinoffs I’ve seen. For one thing, it actually feels like it’s written by Kamachi. Most spinoffs tend to have the original writer simply give approval to stories that the artist has come up with themselves (the Nagato Yuki spinoff is a good example), but events in this book and the previous one are interconnected with Index’s 15th novel. Not only that, they enhance the novel itself – the last book saw Frenda…

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The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind!, Vol. 3

By Gamei Hitsuji and himesuz. Released in Japan by Overlap. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki. I didn’t mention it in my review of the previous volume, but a large chunk of that book was taken up with the journey of the actual hero, Reiji, and his adventures trying to destroy the demons. Given that the basic premise of this book is that we leave the hero by the wayside and follow his secretly more powerful best friend, it’s impressive that the author it not only coming back to the hero occasionally but also treating him seriously. Reiji wants to help this world, despite the fact that he’s not from it and that everyone not in his party seems to be a cynical bastard of…

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Bookshelf Briefs 6/18/18

ACCA 13-Territory Inspection Department, Vol. 3 | By Natsume Ono | Yen Press – Sometimes you have to pick a side, even when you don’t want to. Jean really doesn’t want to, and it’s getting him in a bit of trouble, whether it’s being kidnapped by a group of terrorists mostly by accident, or trying to do his job while everyone wants him to be a spy and give them intel—including his boss, who gets pissed off at him at the cliffhanger. Jean, of course, reacts to this the way a Natsume Ono hero always reacts—with a world-weary stare, and in this case a lot of cigarettes. As for the actual coup, it’s still percolating, and I suspect we won’t get any actual revolution until Jean’s toured every single province….

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Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 1

By Kagiji Kumanomata. Originally released in Japan as “Maou-jou de Oyasumi” by Shogakukan, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Sunday. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki. Adapted by Annette Roman Yes, it’s another entry in what’s turning out to be a long series of “it only has one gag, but it’s a great gag” manga. Actually, the last one I wrote up that had a similar feel was Satan’s Secretary, and the two series are not dissimilar: human is kidnapped and taken to demon lord’s castle, where they proceed to have the run of the place, much to the frustration of some of the demons. But where the secretary in the other title took over by simply competence and hard work, Princess Syalis just…

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Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, Vol. 2

By FUNA and Itsuki Akata. Released in Japan as “Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!” by Earth Star Entertainment. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Diana Taylor. Adapted by Maggie Cooper. Last time I complimented this series on its use of humor and its focus on a heroine who wanted desperately to be normal but lacked all common sense as to what that meant. It’s not really the sort of premise that can sustain a long series, and so I wasn’t surprised that this second volume, while still amusing, did not reach the laugh heights of the first book. Fortunately, even though it’s settling into more of a typical fantasy light novel, it still has strengths, which it leans on. The main heroines are…

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Claudine

By Riyoko Ikeda. Originally released in Japan as by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Margaret. Currently licensed by Fairbell. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jocelyne Allen. I’ll be honest, I was expecting the first Riyoko Ikeda manga to come out in North America to either be Rose of Versailles or nothing whatsoever – leaving aside the age of the works, the rumor was that there were a lot of difficulties licensing Ikeda’s works. But Versailles is still being worked on, and no one’s rushing to pick up Oniisama E (though maybe if this does well…). And so we have Claudine, a short manga (not only is it one volume, but that volume is half the size of the average) about the title character, a beautiful young…

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Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 11

By Fujino Omori and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka?” by Softbank Creative. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Gaippe. First off, let’s take a moment to make fun of me for my last review. Yes, I thought that the author was going to leave everything up in the air and unresolved and move on. Whoopsie. This book starts off where the last one ended, with Bell hated by most of the city, and then takes off at breakneck speed and doesn’t stop. If you read DanMachi for the epic battle scenes, you’re absolutely in luck, as these make up most of the entire last half of the book. And there’s a lot of “scenes…

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Manga the Week of 6/20/18

SEAN: Glory be! A small week! Is that because the last week of June is hideously huge? (peers ahead) Yup. Oh well, let’s enjoy next week anyway. MICHELLE: Now I’m gonna have “The Night Chicago Died” in my head. Not that I’m complaining. ANNA: OK, it is good to have a bit of a break. SEAN: Not manga, but it’s worth mentioning that Dark Horse has the Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia, a 320-page hardcover with oodles and oodles of Zelda. Click your Link and get it! ASH: Ha! I believe I will, thank you very much! SEAN: J-Novel Club has releases for Infinite Stratos (2) and Outbreak Company (4). Kodansha has a few print releases. There’s Love & Lies 6 and That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 6….

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