Anonymous Noise, Vol. 15 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – Nino has been struggling for so long against herself, or at the very least against Miou, that it’s worth seeing how she fares against actual professional singer at a concert. We find out here when one of the other bands covers an In No Hurry song and asks Nino to join in—which shows off how far she has to go, but also gives her a bit more drive. Meanwhile rain threatens to dwindle their audience, but also inspires them to bring out an older song—one associated with the band’s first vocalist. It helps tie into the theme of moving on and growing that is in this book. Which is good, as the romance is fairly static, though Kurose looks to be stumbling towards a revelation, at least. Still quite good. – Sean Gaffney
High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World!, Vol. 4 | By Riku Misora and Kotaro Yamada | Yen Press – This volume is at its best when the prodigies are not having it quite as easy as they’d like. The local Duke is furious at what they’re trying to achieve, and launches a fearsome weapon that the heroes to eventually stop, but it manages to cause major damage to the city and causes some deaths as well. Thankfully, the Duke is killed off. Yup, totally dead, despite not finding a body. There’s no way he can come back from that. The service is also less in this volume, though it’s still present, especially in the extra chapter which is basically “why am I surrounded by girls with bigger tits than me?” Next volume promises a love triangle. This is OK, but I think I’d like the LN more. – Sean Gaffney
Killing Me!, Vol. 1 | By Akiyama | Yen Press – There were two volumes of yuri released last month, and one was fascinating enough for me to devote a full review to it. This is the other one, which is far less fascinating, though if you like yuri tsunderes it might be for you. A vampire hunter and vampire are both in high school, and the hunter keeps trying—and failing—to kill the vampire, partly as the vampire does things like attempting to seduce her, etc. and partly as she’s clearly in love but unaware of it. What happens is a series of somewhat tedious scenes that show off this love. There’s also age difference at play here, given the vampire tropes present. Not sure if there’s a second volume of this, but I was going to pass anyway. – Sean Gaffney
My Sweet Girl, Vol. 5 | By Rumi Ichinohe | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I’ve been waiting for My Sweet Girl to do something that might distinguish it from the pack. It’s been pleasant and cute, but through volume four, it was sticking to the standard shoujo plot lines. I mean, really, the introduction of Kiyodo, the similarly frail classmate whom Koeda befriended in junior high, is just another example of the childhood friend romantic rival trope. But Kiyodo is an interesting tsundere, and I really appreciated seeing Koeda through his eyes, especially his appreciation of how much she’s changed. I hope we’re not supposed to take him seriously as a threat to Masamune-kun, though. Finally kind of good! – Michelle Smith
One-Punch Man, Vol. 17 | By ONE and Yusuke Murata | VIZ Media – Man, it seems like it’s been forever since we’ve seen Saitama show up to a scene and destroy a monster in a single punch, so his arrival at the battle between Genos, two elderly martial arts practitioners, and a nigh indestructable giant centipede—including an epic, eight-page spread for his punch—was immensely gratifying. I’ll just pretend the gag about King pooping his pants didn’t happen. Unfortunately, the arc about the Monster Association is still ongoing, with no end in sight. Hero-hunter Garo I can at least sympathize with a little bit, and now he’s in league with the monsters, so perhaps he’ll make them more interesting by association. This is still a fun title, despite my gripes. – Michelle Smith
Oresama Teacher, Vol. 26 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Viz Media – Arguably kidnapping Mafuyu and locking her in a mansion was not the best move plot-wise, as it takes us away from the school and devotes too much attention to Miyabi’s sister Toko and our villain of the arc, Mr. Maki. Toko fares better here than she has before, but is no Miyabi, and Maki’s tragic backstory does not really tear at the heartstrings like it should. Fortunately, there is always Mafuyu being an absolutely dense pile of girl, and we get that in spades. Every time I found myself laughing hard it was due to Mafuyu reaching new depths of stupidity that I didn’t think were possible—”You’re telling me to make more friends” had me in hysterics. This needs to end soon, but I still love it. – Sean Gaffney
Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General, Vol. 4 | By jin | Seven Seas – The author almost apologizes for this volume having a plot that runs all the way through it, as it turns out that the heroes organization has been compromised, and after Secretary, of all people, is kidnapped, it’s up to Braveman and Black General to team up and head into the base. This is not to say there’s not a lot of the silly humor that’s the reason to read this—the antagonist realizing how the General had snuck into the hero training course earlier is a great series of “oh crap” images, and while Black General’s solution ended up humiliating her, it also included a very satisfying kick to the groin which was desperately needed. Still more fun than you’d expect. – Sean Gaffney
Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 10 | By Aya Kanno | Viz Media – So I put off reviewing this for a long time, and while it’s difficult to do a content warning in a brief, here is one: there’s a non-consensual sex scene in this, and while it’s handled in a way that’s not meant to be titillating but disturbing, it’s still here and did not make me happy. It doesn’t help that Buckingham is sitting there on the cover smiling at the reader as if to say “Yeah, I did that. And?” That said, there is one fantastic reason to read this, and it’s Elizabeth, who, like Margaret before her, is getting more and more furious and unhinged, and the faces that Kanno draws to convey this are first rate. This is not an easy read, but I still want to see how it all plays out. – Sean Gaffney
UQ Holder, Vol. 17 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – This is at its best when it’s revisiting its past, as with earlier volumes. While fifteen wrapped up Negima and gave us an ultra-happy ending, this is not that universe, and there will be no wedding between Chisame and anyone here, as we discover just how Negi got to be what he is and why Nodoka and Yue are on his side. Less impressive is the resolution of the bomb on the space station plot, which involves one of the characters sacrificing their immortality to save the day ’til an ass pull that’s so out of nowhere that even I, a very forgiving person, can’t accept it. Oh yes, and not a fan of Eva/Touta, so seeing Chachazero (revived briefly) nagging her about it did not thrill me. Sill, the Negima stuff was great. – Sean Gaffney
Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 19 | By Mizuho Kusanagi | VIZ Media – Zeno’s sad backstory has concluded, so volume nineteen is mostly transitional. Still, because this is Yona, it’s still really good. First, the group runs into the former site of a Blue Dragon village, whereupon the spirit of a previous Blue Dragon possesses Sinha. He threatens to use the rest of the party as vessels for the spirits of the bandits with whom he was trapped long ago, but then he meets Yona. I loved the panel where this guy just involuntarily starts weeping from being in her presence. She’s able to soothe him in no time, and then she and the boys end up accompanying Riri on a journey to another country. Or, rather, they *would* if they weren’t ambushed in a pleasant-seeming town on this side of the border. Yona is always fabulous, even when it’s just moving the plot along. – Michelle Smith
Yuri Is My Job!, Vol. 4 | By miman | Kodansha Comics – We finally get the climax of the arc here, and it’s handled pretty well given that this series is reveling in yuri tropes while trying to steer clear of any actual yuri relationships. Sumika’s past shows us that, to my surprise, she was not the one involved in the past “tragedy,” though I did like seeing how said tragedy seems to have merely led to an Important Haircut rather than anything more drastic. Still, it does help Sumika realize that she’s not there to stop Kanoko from confessing—Kanoko’s never going to do that—but to be there when the emotions of burying her love get to be too much. As a result, we get two new soeurs… erm, schwesters, and a final lighter chapter whose plot is “Yano’s large chest is too sexy for our room.” Decently handled. – Sean Gaffney