Manga the Week of 8/31

SEAN: August ends with a giant pile of manga, mostly via Yen Press, but as always we’ll start alphabetically.

Kodansha gives us the first volume of the Attack on Titan: Lost Girls manga. This is an adaptation of the visual novel that focused on Mikasa and Annie, there’s also a novel that Vertical released. It promises to be quite good.

ASH: Oh! I somehow overlooked the manga being licensed, though I did know about the novel.

SEAN: There’s also a 4th volume of Maga-Tsuki, as well as a 9th Your Lie In April. You know I have little to say when I combine releases into the same line.

ASH: I didn’t care much for Maga-Tsuki, but for the most part I have been enjoying Your Lie in April. It can be a bit melodramatic, but I’m always down for music manga!

SEAN: Seven Seas gives us a 9th volume of runaway monster girl hit Monster Musume.

And they also have a 2nd volume of Shomin Sample, whose full title I won’t bother with. Volume 1 was not very good, but did make me laugh more than I expected to.

Vertical Comics also has a Vol. 9, this one is Witchcraft Works.

OK, that’s it for non-Yen titles. Let’s start with digital, there are new digital volumes of Aoharu x Machinegun (5), Black Detective (5), Corpse Princess (6), and Saki (5). I’m falling behind on Saki, I will admit.

ASH: Still happy if somewhat stunned that Saki is being translated!

SEAN: Yen On has a full 8 light novels out this month; luckily, we already had two of them out this week. For next week, we get the debut of The Asterisk War, a stunning expose of modern copyediting in Japan. Wait, no, this is another fantasy series with magic, swords, and cute girls. But, on the bright side, it does not have anyone getting trapped in a game.

Baccano! has a 2nd light novel, this the first of a 2-part arc subtitled The Grand Punk Railroad (this is the “Local” novel.) It is worth noting that one of the protagonists in this book is named Jacuzzi Splot. This alone should make everyone want to read it.

MICHELLE: Haha. At some point, I will get around to these.

SEAN: And a 4th Black Bullet, which will have to figure out how far down the rabbit hole it can go after last volume’s “kill an entire classroom of adorable children”.

The Devil Is A Part-Timer! is always a treat, and I look forward to the 5th volume.

ASH: I’ve fallen behind on the series, but was greatly amused by its beginning.

SEAN: Likewise, Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? continues to have a batting average above its premise, and the 6th volume should continue that.

And Sword Art Online has an 8th volume, this one devoted to two large novellas and a short story, taking place both during the time in Aincrad and after.

MJ: I’m still reading this, so… that’s something.

SEAN: On the manga front, Yen has a 2nd volume of Anne Happy, a story of several unlucky students and their bizarre classroom.

And there’s a 2nd omnibus of Corpse Party: Blood Covered, which as you can tell from the title is filled with heartwarming fluff.

Yen has a 3rd volume of sci-fi thriller Dimension W.

ASH: I recently picked up the first two volumes since I generally like Yūji Iwahara’s manga. Also, the covers glow in the dark!

SEAN: And a 4th volume of fanservice-heavy Dragons Rioting.

MJ: I know fanservice sells, but it’s become so overwhelming in Yen titles generally, I’ve started to wonder what’s left for me. Then I remember things like Emma and Fruits Basket.

SEAN: Well, Yen Press allied with Kadokawa Shoten, and is now putting out a bunch of its titles. Between Dragon Age and Comic Alive, there’s a lot of titles that cater to the male otaku.

We have reached the end of Emma with its 5th and final omnibus. This one is mostly side stories, but does also give us some time with the main characters themselves. So happy Yen rescued this.

MJ: Yep.

ASH: Yes! I was one of the people who discovered the series after it had gone out of print. I’m thrilled that I can now own it, and Yen has done a beautiful job with the release.

ANNA: I got it the first time around, but am so happy that people who hadn’t read it before have a chance at a nice rerelease.

SEAN: And a 4th omnibus of Fruits Basket, which introduces us to Hiro, who is one of my favorite underappreciated characters.

MICHELLE: This is coming out so fast!

MJ: Delightfully fast!

ANNA: Fruits Basket EEEE! I have all the TokyoPop volume, so I have held off on this but I am delighted it is in print again!

SEAN: Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun is always at the top of my pile when it comes out, because it will always be the funniest thing to read.

MJ: I gotta get into this.

ASH: Definitely! I think you’ll like it. The anime adaptation is great, too.

ANNA: I like it, and it is genuinely funny.

SEAN: School-Live! has a 4th volume of adorable schoolgirls and horrific zombies.

Trinity Seven, Volume Six. I’ve made this joke too many times already, so just insert your football results gag here.

Lastly, there is a 3rd omnibus of Yowamushi Pedal, filled with earnest cycling and the sweat and tears of male athletes. It’s actually quite awesome.

MICHELLE: I love it!

ASH: I enjoy this series so much.

ANNA: I haven’t picked this up yet, which I’m sure indicates that there is something wrong with me.

SEAN: As always, so much stuff you could be behind forever. What are you reading?