MICHELLE: I’m going to have to go with volume eleven of Library Wars: Love & War this week. I still struggle with the overall premise and the depiction of a supposedly elite military unit, but I can’t help but enjoy each volume and the slow burn of Iku’s growing relationship with her commanding officer. It’s become a series I genuinely look forward to.
SEAN: Since Michelle got Library Wars… it’s rare I recommend a pick of the week that I don’t actually read, but really, the release of Eden: It’s An Endless World 14 is really exciting. The story of a world in chaos following a worldwide pandemic, it’s incredibly well-written, and also filled with depressing things happening to nice people, so naturally I couldn’t get through it, because I never read that sort of series. Except when I do. In any case, many people I respect love this, so check it out.
ANNA: I am also very fond of Library Wars, but since Michelle already gave it a shout-out, I’m going to have to go with the Hana Kimi omnibus. Sure, a plucky cross-dressing heroine and a surly yet secretly empathetic hero have been done to death in shoujo manga, but Hana Kimi is one of the best examples. I’ve kept the series on hand since it came out for my every third year ritual rereads, and I enjoy it every time.
ASH: Well, because Library Wars has already been mentioned several times I guess that instead I’ll choose…wait, who am I kidding? I’m still going to pick Library Wars. I’m enjoying the series much more than I actually think I should be. Maybe it’s because I’m a librarian myself, but I get a kick out of the manga’s version of librarianship. It’s certainly one of the more unusual portrayals that I’ve come across.
MJ: So, apparently I’m the only person at Manga Bookshelf who does not read Library Wars. And really, I wish I did, because there isn’t a lot strongly compelling me otherwise this week. I will take a moment, though, to give a shout out to the 4th omnibus edition of Lone Wolf and Cub. I missed this classic the first time around, and have been very grateful to get a second chance at it—especially in its new, larger format! Readable text becomes so much more important to me as my poor eyes get older. If, like me, you never gave the original editions of Lone Wolf and Cub a try, now’s the time to start!