A television station in Houston reports that the Klein Independent School District (ISD) has been bypassing the usual administrative procedure for removing controversial books from its shelves, instead treating those titles as old or out-of-date materials that need to be purged. The majority of books on its list will be familiar to anyone who’s been following the conversation around race, gender, and “age appropriate” works for younger readers—The Bluest Eye, Fun Home—but the list also includes volumes of popular manga such as Assassination Classroom, Black Butler, and Soul Eater. The Texas chapter of the ACLU is currently investigating.
In other news, Brigid Alverson reports that a Texas judge has blocked the implementation of the READER Act, which “would require booksellers to assign ratings to all books they sell to schools and recall any ‘sexually explicit’ books that had already been sold”… Brigid Alverson also has the scoop on Burst Angel, which was rescued from licensing purgatory, as well as four new additions to the Yen Press catalog… Cutie Honey will celebrate her 50th birthday this November… The Witch and the Knight Will Survive will be complete in three volumes… Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction is coming to the big screen next year… the United Workers of Seven Seas just voted to ratify their first contract… and The Beat posted a generous preview of Issaka Galadima’s Clock Striker, “which follows a young Black girl in her quest to become an elite engineer warrior.”
AROUND THE WEB
Matt Alt explains how some of Japan’s most time-honored methods for cooling off in the summer are disappearing in the face of modernization and global warming. [The New Yorker]
Eiichiro Oda sat down with the New York Times to talk about Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of One Piece, and why he thinks his series will be a hit with international viewers. [New York Times]
Shelby Tozier examines the legacy of Arina Tanemura, author of such shojo classics as Phantom Thief Jeanne and Full Moon o Sagashite. [Anime Feminist]
Also at Anime Feminist: Sarah Guinevere Smit uses Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou to explain “what many transgender people went through during the pandemic.” She explains: “In the solitude and desolation of COVID-19, cut off from the pressures and expectations of society, there was a silent wave of transgender people coming to the realization that they no longer needed to pretend to be someone they were not, beginning their transitions in the midst of death, despair, and loneliness.” [Anime Feminist]
To mark the tenth anniversary of Radiant‘s debut, Dark Aether offers an in-depth look at the series. [AniTAY]
Wondering what to watch this fall? Kara Denison has prepared a helpful list of anime whose source material is already available in English. [Otaku USA]
Jocelyne Allen sings the praises of Hokago no Etude, a BL manga about a ballet troupe. “For a BL manga, it has a real shojo vibe to it at times,” she notes. “Dance scenes get room to breathe, while the sexy times have closely packed panels, loads of dialogue and sound effects, for an overall intensity that makes those scenes even more effective.” [Brain vs. Book]
REVIEWS
Erica Friedman argues that Otherside Picnic is “one of the most extraordinary explorations of physical, emotional and psychic boundaries that I have ever read”… librarian Ashley Hawkins has a brief but excellent review of Susumu Higa’s Okinawa… Adam Symchuk explains how Yokohama Station SF finds its footing in volume two… Megan D. reads Corrector Yui so you don’t have to… Sarah gives two thumbs up to After We Gazed at the Starry Sky… and the gang at Beneath the Tangles post a fresh batch of short reviews.
New and Noteworthy
- After We Gazed at the Starry Sky (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Book of Heartslabyul, Vol. 1 (Mark Thomas, The Fandom Post)
- The Essence of Being a Muse, Vol. 1 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Horimiya Memorial Book Page. 100 Art Book (Mark Thomas, The Fandom Post)
- I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Vol. 1 (darkstorm, Anime UK News)
- I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Vol. 1 (Luce, Okazu)
- The Illustrated Guide to Monster Girls, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- My Darling Detective: Mitsuko’s Case Files, Vol. 1 (Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic)
- My Mate Is a Feline Gentleman (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
- Oshi no Ko, Vol. 1 (Liz, No Flying No Tights)
- The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King, Vol. 1 (MrAJCosplay, ANN)
- Seraph of the End Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times, Vol. 1 (Kate O’Neil, The Fandom Post)
Complete, OOP, and Ongoing Series
- Beast Complex, Vol. 3 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Beauty and the Feast, Vol. 9 (Krystallina, The OASG)
- Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense, Vol. 6 (Justin, The OASG)
- A Business Proposal, Vol. 2 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 27 (Antonio Mireles, The Fandom Post)
- Choujin X, Vol. 3 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Doomsday with My Dog, Vol. 3 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
- The Eminence in Shadow, Vol. 6 (Antonio Miereles, The Fandom Post)
- Fly Me to the Moon, Vol. 18 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses, Vol. 5 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
- Magu-chan: God of Destruction, Vol. 8 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Master Keaton, Vol. 10 (Frank Plowright, Slings & Arrows)
- Romantic Killer, Vol. 4 (King Baby Duck, Boston Bastard Brigade)
- Trigun, Vol. 1 (Megan D. The Manga Test Drive)
- Unnamed Memory, Vol. 3 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
- Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun, Vols. 2-3 (Noemi10, Anime UK News)