MJ: I’m the one with an obvious choice this week, so I’ll start things off by reiterating what I said in Wednesday’s column: xxxHolic, xxxHolic, xxxHolic! By now, everyone knows that I was an enormous fan of this series—of its glorious artwork, its dark tone, and its spaztastic hero, Watanuki. I am also one of the few fans of the series who did not hate the ending, or the major plot event that this new continuation seems to be ignoring. But hey, I’m fine with that, too! I’ll go along with anything that gives me more of this series. So bring it on, xxxHolic: Rei!
ANNA: I’m going to have to go with Vinland Saga, a manly manga about vikings killing people that manages to have really interesting characters and plot development along with the marauding.
SEAN: I enjoy supporting my local josei, or in this case my local shoujo/josei hybrid, so my pick is the first volume of Say “I Love You” from Kodansha. I reviewed it here. As you can see, I wasn’t over the moon about it, but rare is the shoujo series I fall in love with right away. Most take a few volumes to draw me in. I’m hoping this is the same.
MICHELLE: I’m definitely glad we’re getting more xxxHOLiC, but it feels a bit like cheating to pick it when I never managed to finish the original, so instead I’ll join Sean in picking Say “I Love You”. Honestly, I don’t know a great deal about it, but it’s new shoujo from Kodansha, and there really hasn’t been enough of that, so perhaps buying this will encourage them!
ASH: This week is an easy decision for me. I’m in total agreement with Anna. No question about it, my pick is Vinland Saga. With exciting battles and fantastic character development, the series is incredibly engaging and one of my favorite manga being released right now.