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Pop Team Epic: Second Season

By Bkub Okawa. Released in Japan by Takeshobo, serialized in the magazine Manga Life Win. Released in North America by Vertical Comics. Translated by Yota Okutani and Maya Rosewood. It’s hard to get all the humor at the start of the second volume of Pop Team Epic without all the buildup that came with it. Pop Team Epic, the manga, was pretend cancelled, and the author was going to start a new work in the magazine called Hoshiiro Girldrop. There were even some promos for it. Then we get the chapter you see in this volume, and, well, surprise! (It wasn’t much of a surprise – everyone expected something fishy.) Now, of course, we not only have the anime using the series for its previews, but there’s also doujinshi anthology…

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Defeating the Demon Lord’s a Cinch (If You’ve Got a Ringer), Vol. 2

By Tsukikage and bob. Released in Japan as “Darenidemo Dekiru Kage kara Tasukeru Maou Toubatsu” by Famitsu Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Caleb DeMarais. The good news here is that everything is just a bit more toned down than the first volume. Sure, Ares spends much of the book frustrated and gritting his teeth, insulting the hero and companions at every turn, but he never runs into them, so it’s more tolerable. Toudou and company likewise are a lot more likeable than the first book (knowing Toudou’s secret helps), and I like their resolve even in the case of crippling fear and dealing with insane priests. And no, I don’t mean Ares, though he’s clearly not all there either – in fact, given Amelia also…

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Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 2

Ao Haru Ride Volume 2 by Io Sakisaka When reading the second volume of this series, I found myself thinking about how the characters in Ao Haru Ride are different from some of the unusually self-aware protagonists that occasionally appear in shoujo manga. Teens with involved thoughts about the condition of being teenagers are fairly common, but Ao Haru Ride is concerned with issues of time and memory, and how memory can be a constructed choice in a way that feels refreshing to me as a reader. As Futuba enters her second year of high school, she still struggling to find her niche. Her attempt to ingratiate herself with a small gang of judgemental girls didn’t work out well for her, and she wants to develop real friendships. She makes…

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So I’m a Spider, So What?, Vol. 4

By Okina Baba and Tsukasa Kiryu. Released in Japan as “Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?” by Fujimi Shobo. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon. I’m still not quite sure about where out spider girl stands in terms of the current timeline (my current guess is that she’s the “white” girl rather than the demon lord, despite personality differences), but the two timelines are definitely starting to converge a bit. Or at least the spider is out of her dungeon… mostly… and starting to see the world. More to the point, much as I like seeing the spider’s adventures fighting things, I’ve become far more interested in the rest of the reincarnated kids, who are (mostly) all reunited at the Elf Village this volume. It’s a…

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Ne Ne Ne

By Shizuku Totono and Daisuke Hagiwara. Released in Japan by Square Enix, serialized in the magazine Shonen Gangan. Released in North America by Yen Press. Translated by Taylor Engel. The artist here may be familiar – the same one also draws Horimiya. The author is relatively unknown, however, and this did not take off the way Horimiya did – it’s just one volume total. But to be honest, that seems about right. Not that I didn’t enjoy this series, it was very cute and had some great humor. But you get the sense when reading it that future volumes would have been much the same – it’s the sort of series that only resolves when the main couple gets together, and has no plot except “will they finally get together”,…

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Manga the Week of 12/19/18

SEAN: It’s the last big push before Christmas. What’s out next week for last-minute gifts? Denpa has two new titles. Futurelog is a Renge Murata artbook, and looks AMAZING. (I saw it at AnimeNYC). It’s the character designer behind Last Exile and Blue Submarine No. 6, among other things. And for those who like more ‘artsy’ manga, there is Invitation from a Crab, a one-volume collection of stories that ran in Hakusensha’s Rakuen Le Paradis. ASH: I’m really looking forward to this one! SEAN: Ghost Ship gives us an 8th To-Love-Ru Darkness. MICHELLE: For the antithesis of ‘artsy.’ SEAN: Haikasoru has the 8th volume of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, which I believe will be the opposite of a laugh riot. J-Novel Club has the 3rd Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to…

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Durarara!!, Vol. 11

By Ryohgo Narita and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul. If you enjoy scenes where one character tears down the motivations of another character, you’ll love this volume of DRRR!!, because that’s almost all it is. Yes, by the end of the book the plot guns are finally going off (or in some cases blowing up – nice cameo, Vorona), but most of this book is still buildup and dialogue. Izaya confronts Anri about her own nature, how she “uses” Saika, and her aggressive passiveness (yes, Anri can be very aggressive about not doing anything), to the point where she almost has a nervous breakdown. Izaya also confronts Mikado about what he’s trying to do with the…

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The Promised Neverland, Vol. 7

By Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu. Released in Japan as “Yakusoku no Neverland” by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Satsuki Yamashita. A lot of this volume has our heroes dealing with a grumpy adult guy who’s hiding out in the shelter they’ve come to, and is trying to kick them out. He is, of course, the last remains of a different group that tried to escape years ago. I like this, as it reminds readers that Ray and Emma aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel here. Kids have escaped from the field houses before, and likely will again. That said, things are still exactly the same. How will Emma and Ray genuinely change things? They’ll need help….

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Bookshelf Briefs 12/11/18

Akashic Records of Bastard Magica Instructor, Vol. 5 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – I had forgotten to review the last volume of this, which likely says a lot. That said, it’s still all right, it’s just its character beats are predictable. Re=L has joined Glenn and the others, and slowly starts to integrate with the class, so naturally something comes along that makes her turns traitor. Rumia’s identity is now a bit more well known, which means she’s stuck playing damsel again. Still, if you like action this is decent enough, and the villains are fun provided you don’t mind that they sneer and cackle. This is not really top-drawer manga, but it’s decent enough if you’re already a fan of the…

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