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In Another World with My Smartphone, Vol. 10

By Patora Fuyuhara and Eiji Usatsuka. Released in Japan as “Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni” by Hobby Japan. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Andrew Hodgson. Three-fourths of this volume is a fairly typical Smartphone volume, with the added bonus of actually resolving some long-standing plot developments and introducing a “new” character who, while I may not love her, certainly has the ability to put a lot of things in motion. Unfortunately, that leaves one-fourth of Smartphone which is absolute garbage, having all the worst tendencies of this series wrapped up in an awful bow. Touya’s sociopathy, villains who sneer and cackle but are also cowardly and ugly, barely disguised hatred of China. It’s all here, and it sucks. I’ve talked before about how I…

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Bookshelf Briefs 10/15/18

Bleach, Vol. 74 | By Tite Kubo | Viz Media – I have never actually reviewed Bleach as a brief… or indeed at all. I followed its periphery, keeping track of what was going on and trying not to be too invested. The final volume shows off many of its strengths and weaknesses… I enjoyed seeing Ichigo and Orihime fighting together, and the finale was sweet, but far too often the volume was Yhwach screaming “can’t you see your powers are USELESS against me!” like an MST3K villain. Still, say what you will about Bleach, it was always itself. It may feel like it was cancelled for not getting on with it (it probably was), but changing anything seems churlish. It’s that middle son who’s always a hot mess, who…

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The Promised Neverland, Vol. 6

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. For all that Ray insists that he’s not going to sacrifice his life at the end of the last volume, he is a small child running at full speed against a number of demons who are essentially horses in this scene. Sure, he’s rescued, but it was an impetuous thing to do. And of course there’s also Emma, who is almost literally working herself to death to get this escape on the road. So I really enjoyed the scene in this volume where Dona, Gilda and the other kids tear into the two of them for…

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JK Haru Is a Sex Worker in Another World

By Ko Hiratori. Released in Japan by Hayakawa Shoten. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Emily Balistrieri. Before I begin, let’s state the obvious: this book is for those over the age of eighteen. The review will not have strong language itself, but reader discretion is advised. Wow. I didn’t know much about this going into it. When I first heard about the license, I thought it sounded absolutely dreadful, but I was assured that it was not actually meant to be a servicey title and that it would reward the patient and tolerant reader. The assurance was correct, as I am very grateful to have read this title, which I thought was excellent. That said, I know several people who started to read this and were…

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Satoko and Nada, Vol. 1

By Yupechika and Marie Nishimori. Released in Japan by Seikaisha, serialization ongoing on the online site Twi 4. Released in North America by Seven Seas. Translated by Jenny McKeon. Adapted by Lianne Sentar. The premise of Satoko and Nada feels a bit fresher because it has an extra twist to it. When you see the series takes place at an American university, and features two roommates learning more about each other, you’d expect that one of them would be a stereotypical American. In fact, Nada is Saudi Arabian, and her new roommate Satoko is Japanese. Thus they’re not only learning about their own culture and personal foibles, but also learning about life as a foreign woman in America. It’s the sort of premise that works well as a 4-koma, as…

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Accel World: The End and the Beginning

By Reki Kawahara and Hima. Released in Japan by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jocelyne Allen. The past coming back to haunt people is a running theme in Accel World. In real life, past trauma is how you get Incarnate attacks to use in the game. And events that have happened in the game have also had traumatic repercussions, particularly for Kuroyukihime and Haruyuki. Still, as our heroes continue to attempt to try to defeat the ISS kits, I was not prepared for the past to literally come back. Everyone’s still feeling out why this is happening, but in a meta way, I think part of it is that Reki Kawahara knows when he has a good idea, but then proceeds to come back…

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Manga the Week of 10/17/18

SEAN: Neither rain nor snow not gloom of night can stay Manga Bookshelf from looking at next weeks’ releases. We start off with J-Novel Club, who have three new novels. An Archdemon’s Dilemma 2, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 11 (In which I hear things are all sunshine and rainbows forever), and I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse 10, where our hero tries to deal with the world of theater. Kodansha print? There’s Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network, with stories by Western writers based on the Japanese classic. ASH: I really liked the Attack on Titan anthology, so I’m looking forward to this volume! SEAN: Elsewhere in print, we have the Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 1 box set, Battle Angel Alita Deluxe Edition…

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Ao Haru Ride, Vol. 1

By Io Sakisaka. Released in Japan by Shueisha, serialized in the magazine Bessatsu Margaret (“Betsuma”). Released in North America by Viz Media. Translated by Emi Louie-Nishikawa. This is a shoujo manga, so most of you should probably be unsurprised that it is about teenage kids in high school falling in love. Actually, it starts off in middle school where we meet our hero and heroine, who meet cute, work up to going on a date… and then he never shows up, and transfers soon after, and it all falls apart. It almost feels like a one-shot, but that would be far too bitter a pill, I think, so instead we jump forward to high school, where Futaba is now slightly more outgoing and “one of the girls” (though it’s clear…

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The Irregular at Magic High School: Visitor Arc, Part 1

By Tsutomu Sato and Kana Ishida. Released in Japan as “Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei” by ASCII Mediaworks. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Prowse. Nothing quite says “The irregular at Magic High School” quite like introducing one of North American’s top magician agents, almost ungodly in her strength, speed, and power, and then having her get crushed by Tatsuya and Miyuki as a reminder that it’s their series. There are various “outs” given for Miyuki, as Tatsuya has to remove the limiter she has on him to let her fight with the strength to defeat Lina, and the occasional reminder that North America does have the occasional magic tech that Japan does not have (to Tatsuya’s irritation), but for the most part the first of this…

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