As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Vol. 12 | By Matoba | Yen Press – When you have a main couple as innocent and naive as this one, it’s going to take a lot of struggle to get them together. Indeed, even figuring out what love actually is is tough for Miss Beelzebub, much less that she’s in love with Mullin. And then, just as she’s ready to tell Mullin how she feels, he’s seized by self-hatred and doubt, thinking she’s far too high a station for him. This leads to her being depressed and avoiding him, which… repeat as needed. Thankfully, they do eventually manage to confess to each other. The series may not end with the wedding on the cover, but this is good enough. It was sickly sweet at times… but that’s why everyone read this series in the first place. – Sean Gaffney
BL Metamorphosis, Vol. 4 | By Kaori Tsurutani | Seven Seas – While the series is based around the premise of a teenage girl and an elderly woman bonding over BL, it’s become apparent that this is Urara’s book. Which makes sense—she’s the one searching for a goal. The creation of the doujinshi is very much an up-and-down process, one which we see throughout this volume. It ends at “Comitia 128,” with our unlikely friends manning their own booth. Sadly, said booth—at least so far—has no actual buyers. Honestly, I would have hoped the sheer oddity of the pairing behind the table would have been a draw, but I suppose it’s hard to look beyond the tables. I think this ends with the next book, so it’s time to binge before the finale. – Sean Gaffney
Her Royal Highness Seems to Be Angry, Vol. 1 | By Kou Yatsuhashi | TOKYOPOP – This seems to be a classic case where I’m really intrigued by the ideas this brings to the table, but the execution is not as stellar. A young woman has it all—powerful magic, her isekai’d-from-Japan boyfriend, and a kingdom who loves her—then it’s all destroyed and she’s killed. When she wakes, she’s in the body of a noble far into her future. Magic is a sad shadow of its former self, and she herself is, essentially, a villainess. Most of the book, unfortunately, then sort of slips into standard shoujo romance, but I like the idea that she doesn’t HAVE any memories of her current self, and has to fake it and deal with everyone’s hatred. I might check out the second volume. – Sean Gaffney
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 12 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Yen Press – It amazes me how this book can still be so funny even after all this time, and I credit this to its central premise, which is that everyone in it is a complete dumbass—but never all at the same time. It’s a comedy rule; there has to be someone to react. Sometimes it’s Sakura, despairing about a relay novel that gets out of hand. Sometimes it’s everyone else in the cast watching the continuing car crash that is Seo trying to get Wakamatsu to recognize her feelings. And sometimes it’s Hori and Kashima, where his confession turns out to be, perhaps appropriately, a giant excuse for drama. These kids are all terrible at life, and are all so endearing, I don’t know what I’ll ever do without them if this ever ends. – Sean Gaffney
Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 13 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – It’s good for you! Builds character! That’s what it feels like most of the first part of this volume feels like, as Shirayuki is off to the North, meaning she and Zen will be spending a long time apart. That said, it’s as much about their little group of five than it is about the couple, as it’s clear Shirayuki is going to miss Mitsuhide and Kiki just as much. And as for Obi… well, the love triangle that dares not state its name comes pretty close this time around. (It’s a well-known fact that a majority of the series’ fans, at least in the West, want her to hook up with Obi instead, so the plot twist is not surprising.) All this plus a long, unrelated short story to pad out the volume! Still great, though. – Sean Gaffney
Spy x Family, Vol. 5 | By Tatsuya Endo | Viz Media – A large chunk of this book focuses on Anya and her difficulties at school—not only is it an elite private school, but she’s a girl who spent her life as an orphan, experimented on and abused, and she’s lied to Loid about her age to seem older. So, needless to say, schoolwork is proving tough. Normally she can get by by using her powers (i.e. cheating), but that doesn’t work during the new moon—which matches with exams. It’s tense, but also leaves us plenty of choice hilarious bits. Elsewhere, Yor attempts to learn to cook, and we introduce a colleague of Loid’s who is obsessed with him and VERY upset she was not chosen to be his fake wife for this mission. Everyone should be reading this Eisner-nominated manga. – Sean Gaffney
Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 11 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – One of the reasons that folks seem to be more tolerant of Takagi than they are of Nagatoro or Uzaki is that, for the most part, Nishikata enjoys hanging out with her, and while he finds the teasing frustrating, it’s not because she’s bullying him, it’s because he’s so competitive. Half the time Takagi doesn’t even need to tease him—he shoots himself in his own foot. Even when he literally ends up fanning her like a queen, it’s on him. And, once again, the fun comes from realizing they already ARE a couple, it’s just he can’t really admit that. The most interesting chapter has one of their friends briefly ponder using Nishikata as a fake boyfriend, but it doesn’t even last long enough for Takagi to ponder jealousy. – Sean Gaffney
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 15 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical Comics – The back cover blurb for this volume says, “A hard-working middle-aged gay couple in Tokyo experience new challenges both at work and at home.” Really, that about sums it up. Kenji has taken over management of the beauty salon and must figure out how to delegate some of his new responsibilities so that he’s still able to have dinners at home with Shiro. Most of Shiro’s story is about his parents, who are considering selling their house and moving into a retirement home. In between, there is some shopping for ingredients, a lot of veggies getting chopped, many burbling pots, and incalculable TBSP of soy sauce. Oh, and also everyone tries not to eat too many carbs, which is extremely relatable. I’m particularly keen for the next volume, as Shiro will be meeting Kenji’s family for the first time. Good, as per usual. – Michelle Smith