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Spy x Family, Vol. 1

By Tatsuya Endo. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialization ongoing in the magazine Shonen Jump+. Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Casey Loe. I have technically reviewed this before. Back when Spy x Family was a brand new manga on the Mangaplus app, I was so taken with it that I did a review of the first four chapters even though it hadn’t even been collected into volumes in Japan. Since then it’s gotten up to four volumes there, been picked up by the Shonen Jump app, gotten ludicrously popular (though rumors of an anime coming soon are likely merely rumors), and now we have the first volume from Viz. Is it worth a reread if you’ve already seen it on the app? Of course. This is…

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Der Werwolf: The Annals of Veight, Vol. 7

By Hyougetsu and Nishi(E)da. Released in Japan by Earth Star Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Ningen. For the most part, Der Werwolf has been one of those reincarnation isekai series that tends to ignore the reincarnation most of the time. Veight’s old life in Japan is still mostly a blank to us, and aside from bringing in a few modern ideas to medieval fantasy land, it hasn’t really impacted this story either. That may be changing soon, however, as the cliffhanger at the end of this book seems to show us another Japanese reincarnation, someone who’s looking for Veight specifically. Before that, though, Veight has to finally wrap up this long story arc, helping Eleora to ascend to the throne, fighting off even more plots…

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Adachi and Shimamura, Vol. 2

By Hitoma Iruma and Non. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Molly Lee. When I started this book, I had a very low bar I wanted it to clear, and to its credit, it did. I said on Twitter I was looking for Shimamura to be slightly more interesting and for Adachi to be slightly more gay. On one of those points, the book sails over the bar easily – Adachi’s freaking out about her love for Shimamura, what that says about her, what that says about Shimamura, trying to confess while also desperately hoping she is never found out, and (towards the end) realizing that yes, there is a physical desire in this love as well is probably the highlight…

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Blue Flag, Vol 1

Blue Flag Volume 1 by KAITO It is fair to say that I read plenty of manga, but now and then I read a series that is just so well executed that it feels incredibly refreshing. I knew Blue Flag had plenty of fans, and I was excited to read it when I heard that it was licensed, but my high expectations were surpassed by the first volume. The volume opens with some character introductions that remind most readers of standard characters, but the insightful look into Taichi’s inner thoughts as he starts a new school year plays against readers expecting something more stereotypical. Taichi has a small friend group, who all look like they came out of a shonen playbook of nerd 101. He’s fairly content with remaining under…

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There’s No Way a Side Character Like Me Could Be Popular, Right?, Vol. 1

By Sekaiichi and Tomari. Released in Japan as “Yujinchara no Ore ga Motemakuru Wakenaidaro?” by Overlap. Released in North America by Tentai Books. Translated by Alejandro de Vicente Suárez. One thing that needs to be made clear about this book’s basic premise is that it only works if our protagonist is using anime/manga terms to talk about real life. Tomoki goes on about the fact that he is a ‘side character’, the best friend to the real protagonist Ike (two syllables, I believe). Ike is handsome, popular, does well in school, etc. Tomoki, on the other hand, has the classic “resting bitch face” that makes everyone terrified of him, rumors of a violent past, and has trouble making friends. Um… Tomoki, I hate to break it to you, but Ike’s…

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Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki, Vol. 3

By Yuki Yaku and Fly. Released in Japan as “Jaku Chara Tomozaki-kun” by Shogakukan. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Winifred Bird. I’m not sure this series has ‘arcs’ like some other light novels, but there’s no denying that this third volume feels like the end of part one and the start of part two, and it would not surprise me if the upcoming anime decides this is a good place to wrap things up. Here we see Tomozaki finally go on the movie date with Kikuchi that he didn’t do in the last volume, and also invite her out to fireworks, This is part of Hinami’s life plan of getting him dating a girl by the end of summer break. Along the same sort of lines,…

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Bookshelf Briefs 5/28/20

Dr. STONE, Vol. 11 | By Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi | Viz Media – Balloons! Yes, Dr. STONE is taking it upon itself to do something it does best, which is show off the gorgeous vistas of this not-really-that-explored future Japan it takes place in. And that means hot air balloons. It also means speedboats! But alas, just because Senku is a scientist does not mean he can cook. So they use some of the last remaining fluid to un-stone a butler-cum-chef-cum-everything, Francois, who is flamboyant and also a lot of fun. There’s actually some really good humor in this volume as well, be it the reporter getting her camera and its undercutting right afterwards, or Senku’s Einstein impersonation. This remains one of the essential Jump titles. – Sean Gaffney…

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Manga the Week of 6/3/20

SEAN: June is busting out all over, and while the schedule is not back to normal yet, it’s better than May was. ASH: Huzzah! SEAN: First, an apology to a new publisher, Tentai Books, who have their first release out this week and I missed it. They’re publishing in both Spanish and English, and their debut is a light novel, There’s No Way a Side Character Like Me Could Be Popular, Right?. Seems to be targeting the Oregairu/Tomozaki crowd. As for next week, Ghost Ship has a 9th Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs. J-Novel Club has a lot. In print, we get the debut volume of Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress!, which I recommend to absolutely everyone. ASH:…

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A Mysterious Job Called Oda Nobunaga, Vol. 1

By Kisetsu Morita and Kaito Shibano. Released in Japan as “Oda Nobunaga to Iu Nazo no Shokugyou ga Mahou Kenshi Yori Cheat Datta Node, Oukoku o Tsukuru Koto ni Shimashita” by GA Novels. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alex Wetnight. Another in the many examples we’ve seen lately of “how can I get my webnovel to rise to the top of the rankings when it’s just a basic power fantasy?”, A Mysterious Job Called Oda Nobunaga is by the author of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years but is almost its polar opposite. It oozes cocky masculinity from every page. Honestly, also like many light novels I’ve read lately, its gimmick is somewhat irrelevant. Oda Nobunaga is in our hero’s head, talking to him about…

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