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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

October 18, 2019 by Ash Brown, Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith Leave a Comment

Bookshelf Briefs 10/18/19

Bakemonogatari, Vol. 1 | By NISIOISIN and Oh!great | Vertical Comics – For years there wasn’t a Bakemonogatari manga. It’s not clear why; perhaps Nisioisin didn’t like the format, perhaps the iconic SHAFT anime made it a hard act to follow. In any case, getting Oh!great to draw the story was an inspired choice—the ridiculous over-the-topness that grew tiresome in Air Gear and Tenjho Tenge fits in perfectly with Araragi’s fevered fantasies and Senjogahara’s verbal lacerations. This first volume takes us almost to the end of Hitagi Crab—indeed, it cuts off right near the end, awkwardly so. Still, for anyone who gets overwhelmed by the novel’s verbiage, this is a great purchase. There’s even a bit of added content, though only a bit. – Sean Gaffney

If I Could Reach You, Vol. 1 | By tMnR | Kodansha Comics – Teenage love can be dumb, but not always. Sometimes people are well aware that the feelings they have are never going to be requited, but that does not actually stop the feelings from being there anyway. It’s especially troubling for Uta, the girl that she’s fallen for and her childhood friend. Unfortunately, her brother was also Kaoru’s childhood friend, and they’re now married. Uta is living there due to circumstances, and must continue going to school and living her life while falling deeper and deeper into her passions. I must admit I found her school life a bit more interesting than the home life. Still, this manages to be a potboiler but not in a Citrus way, which is good. – Sean Gaffney

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 3 | By Tomohito Oda | VIZ Media – After a second volume where I had to make it a full review so I could rant, this one settles down quite a bit. Yamai is still around but far less, and the emphasis is firmly on Komi trying to make progress. She does—in fact, her goal of “100 friends” is up to eleven by the end. We also get a better idea of her home life, and it turns out that both Komi and her brother take after their father, while the mother is a total chatterbox. As with the first two books, the best moments in the volume are more heartwarming than funny. Komi at the pool, where her accidental trip and fall means she has to sit by the side, leading to her castigating herself till Tadano steps in. There’s also a lovely festival at the end. Cute as heck. – Sean Gaffney

Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles, Vol. 1 | By Naru Narumi | Dark Horse – The back cover promises “a fun food manga that will show you around the authentic ramen culture of everyday Japan,” and on that, Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles delivers. I doubt I’ll be able to retain any of the information imparted, but it was interesting, all the same. Ramen-obsessed Koizumi is fine, but I’m less fond of Yu Osawa, the girl who’s desperate to become friends with Koizumi. Watching her friends become friendly with Koizumi—by demonstrating an affinity for ramen rather than interest in her—eventually drives Yu to the point of flailing on the ground and crying, “Why won’t you be friendly with meeeee?” It’s very unappealing. She does start to win Koizumi over by the end of the volume, though, which I guess is good for her. I’m not sure I’ll be back for volume two. Maybe. – Michelle Smith

My Hero Academia: School Briefs, Vol. 3 | By Kohei Horikoshi and Anri Yoshi | VIZ Media – Set just before and after the U.A. students have moved into the dorms, the third volume of My Hero Academia: School Briefs has a recurring motif wherein Hatsume Mei’s inventions cause trouble, including a fun chapter where the kids, on edge from telling ghost stories in Tokoyami’s room, hear a strange buzzing sound that Aizawa begrudgingly comes to investigate. My favorite stories, though, are the a-day-in-the-life entries told from the points of view of Ida (who worries he has ostracized his classmates by being too strict) and Kuwai (Koji’s pet bunny, whose inner narrative turns out to be surprisingly and delightfully erudite). I especially liked that both stories showed Bakugo in a good light, including a moment in Ida’s story where Bakugo prevents a surprise from being spoiled and one in Kuwai’s where he checks on the bunny to make sure it’s okay after it briefly escaped Koji’s room. I’m really glad we’re getting these stories! – Michelle Smith

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Vol. 6 | By Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court | VIZ Media – This takes place a number of yeas before the main series, so we can’t really get cameos from 1-A. But we can see the teachers, some of whom aren’t teaching yet. This volume gives us a lot of Eraser, who ends up dealing with Koichi against his better judgment. Meanwhile, Koichi is doing the sort of quirk experimentation that 1-A requires in its students, and finds new uses for his quirk. This really does have in its background plot the idea that someone who fails (or in this case misses) an exam is not a terrible person, but society may treat them that way. And, yes, there’s still quirk drugs going around, this time lading to infiltrating a mixer, with the help of Midnight. Good times. – Sean Gaffney

Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 23 | By Yuki Midorikawa | VIZ Media – It looks as if this is now a yearly series, but that makes each new volume a rewarding experience. This one has two main storylines. In the first, the boys of Natsume’s class get involved in a school’s urban legend about a painting, which may or nay not be supernatural in origin. Then, Natsume and Natori end up visiting a seemingly abandoned house that in reality is being maintained by Matoba and his people, and requires a certain ritual to go well. That said, nothing goes perfectly with Natsume around. Again, the big reason to read this is the natural empathy Natsume has to nearly everyone around him. He is absolutely a good boy—a cinnamon roll, in fact. – Sean Gaffney

Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu, Vol. 4 | By Natsuya Semikawa and Virginia Nitouhei | Udon Entertainment – I like the way that the semi-regular cast show up over and over, sometimes because they’re plot-relevant, and sometimes just to eat more of their favorite food. One of our lothario knights ends up having a food discussion with a woman who is clearly a noble, only he doesn’t really get this. A lady knight shows up looking for the enemy that she fell in love with years ago… only to find the waitress of the izakaya (the blonde, not Shinobu or the little girl) is his wife. Meanwhile, Nobuyuki may be getting closer to Shinobu, but it’s pretty clear food is more important to both of them. Still makes me hungry, but good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

The Poe Clan, Vol. 1 | By Moto Hagio | Fantagraphics – It’s always cause for celebration when more of Hagio’s work is released in translation, doubly so when that work is the highly influential shoujo classic The Poe Clan. Originally published in the 1970s, the series’ focus is on a family of vampirnellas and their interactions with humans, particularly how they prey upon them to sustain their own lives or to initiate them as members into their immortal clan. The first English-language volume from Fantagraphics, released as a beautiful hardcover omnibus, collects six chapters of Hagio’s epic. Though the chapters are all related to one another, the story isn’t presented chronologically and instead shifts between time periods as well as characters. But tying everything together is the presence and spectre of Edgar—a young man whose mortal and immortal life are both tragic. Delectably dark and dramatic, I’m looking forward to the final volume of The Poe Clan a great deal. – Ash Brown

Sacrifical Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 7 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – Sariphi is making friends and influencing people, but her royal fiancé is never far away. She needs to show that she can handle things on her own, so is sent to a nation to essentially bring greetings from the King. Things get complicated, though, because her bodyguard accompanying her is a hyena, and they’re treated as untrustworthy and evil. It doesn’t help that, in order to make himself look good, he deliberately puts her in danger so that he can save the day. But of course Sariphi can see the good within him. She may need to double down on that, though, as the cliffhanger implies he’s about to be framed. An underrated shoujo series. – Sean Gaffney

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