SEAN: The end of January and the start of The Worst Month ™.
ASH: And an extra long one at that!
SEAN: We start with Airship, which in print gives us Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut 7 (the final volume) and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 9.
And in early digital we get Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 4 and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 26 (the final volume).
No debuts for Cross Infinite World, but several ongoing series: The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General! 2, Fluffy Paradise 3, and Making Jam in the Woods: My Relaxing Life Starts in Another World 2.
ASH: If I were to read an isekai, one dealing with food and spirits is a more likely choice than a lot of other things.
ANNA: I do like the idea of making jam in the woods.
ASH: Right??
SEAN: Hanashi Media has two light novel debuts. The Dark Guild Master’s Smile Would Fit Best (Yami Guild no Master wa Kyō mo Hohoemu) stars a normal, peace-loving guy… who happens to run the biggest Dark Guild out there, because his subordinates have decided he needs to RULE THE WORLD. This sounds interesting.
My Pet Is a Saintess (Ore no Pet wa Seijo-sama) is the story of a young man who is devastated when his pet bird dies, then is isekai’d to a world where his pet bird is now a cute young girl, and he needs to be her fiance! This sounds less interesting.
ASH: I’m going to have to agree with these assessments.
ANNA: No thank you!
SEAN: Hanashi Media also has the 8th volume of The Fruit of Evolution: Before I Knew It, My Life Had It Made!.
Debuts are thin on the ground for J-Novel Club. But we see Fake It to Break It! I Faked Amnesia to Break Off My Engagement and Now He’s All Lovey-Dovey?! 2 (the final volume), Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 43, Karate Master Isekai 4, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 8, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! 12, the 4th Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want manga volume, the 6th Tearmoon Empire manga volume, This Art Club Has a Problem! 2, The Wind That Reaches the Ends of the World 2, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 4.
Kaiten Books has a 7th volume of The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting.
We continue the debutless life with Kodansha Manga. In print, they have As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 9, Cells at Work! Omnibus 2 (the final volume), Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection 6, Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 3, and Whisper Me a Love Song 7.
ASH: I really enjoyed the original Cells at Work!, so I’m glad to see it sticking around in print.
SEAN: Digitally we see A Couple of Cuckoos 15, Chihiro-kun Only Has Eyes for Me 9, Drops of God: Mariage 5, Getting Closer to You 6, The Great Cleric 12, and Yozakura Quartet 31.
Seven Seas has a debut! It’s Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City (Okiraku Ryōshu no Tanoshii Ryōchi Bōei: Seisan-kei Majutsu de Na mo Nakimura o Saikyō no Jōsai Toshi ni), which is another one of those “reincarnated with a useless skill that’s really super awesome” books. And also had the light novel come out three weeks prior. It runs in Comic Gardo.
Also from Seven Seas: Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?! Everyday Misadventures! 4 (the final volume), The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 10, The Ideal Sponger Life 15, Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 6, My Cute Little Kitten 2, My Senpai is Annoying 11, Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn 17, and Tokyo Revengers 17-18.
Lastly (yep – 5th week of the month, don’tcha know) we have Yen’s runoff from last week. Yen On has The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 6, Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana 3 (the final volume), I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time 2, and Looks Are All You Need 2. And they have Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing 3 in the “J-Novel Club print” imprint.
While Yen Press has Cocoon Entwined 5, Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 10, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 4, The Red Thread 2, and Unnamed Memory 4.
MICHELLE: Nice to see another volume of Cocoon Entwined!
ASH: Yes, indeed!
SEAN: Small but tasty! Any titles catch your eye?