The Manga Review: Not Dead Yet

I had big resolutions in 2024: I would post a weekly round-up of manga news and reviews, I would read (and review) more books, and I would update my site. Alas, reader, none of these things came to pass. Work got busy, and every time I tried to carve out a few minutes to write, I had difficulty getting my head in the game. My writing stunk. My enthusiasm for writing flagged. So I gave myself permission to put The Manga Critic on ice, and took a long break from blogging. With 2025 on the horizon, though, I started to feel that familiar urge to write about manga and pulled my site out of mothballs once again. I can’t promise that I will churn out as many articles as I did in, say, 2019, but I am excited to saddle up for another year of link posts, essays, and reviews.

A quick note about this week’s column: I’ve focused exclusively on news and reviews, but future editions will also include links to great podcasts, essays, and interviews with folks working in the manga industry, so stay tuned!

NEWS ROUND-UP

Brigid Alverson breaks down the top selling titles at Yen Press, noting the success of both long-running favorites (Delicious in Dungeon) and new series (Unholy Blood)… Kara Dennison highlights three of VIZ Manga’s January releases… Erica Friedman rounds up the latest yuri news… Kodansha will be releasing new volumes of Wind Breaker on a faster schedule… Crunchyroll has plans for its own digital manga app… Tuttle will be publishing a manga adaptation of A Night on the Galactic Railway in March… and CLAMP fans have reason to celebrate: a new installment of xxxHOLiC Rei will be published in April, nearly eight years after the last chapter appeared in Weekly Young Magazine. Better late than never!

REVIEWS

Over at The Wonder of Anime, Lisa De La Cruz explains why you should be reading The Lady and Her Butler, Collette Deserves to Die and Red River… Jeremy Stauber gives mixed marks to Crescent Moon Marching, arguing that the series hits many of the same beats as Sound! Euphonium… Publisher’s Weekly gives a star to Shirato Sanpei’s The Legend of Kamui… Erica Friedman dives into the special English edition of Galette… and Demelza describes Hereditary Triangle as a “rare special manga that manage[s] to both be satisfyingly complete within a short run and leave behind a strong impression on the reader.” Also of note is Jocelyne Allen’s fabulous review of Torikai Akane’s Baby Baby wa Nakanai, a manga that absolutely, positively needs an English translation.

• Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, Vol. 1 (Jarius Taylor, ANN)
• BLEND-S, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
• Beware the Villainess!, Vol. 1 (Noemi10, Anime UK News)
• Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi, Vol. 1 (Renee Scott, Good Comics for Kids)
• Choujin X, Vol. 8 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
• Dogs and Punching Bags (Kara Dennison, Otaku USA)
• Drunks (Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic)
• Eden of Witches, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
• Happyland, Vol. 1 (Giovanni Stigliano, Asian Movie Pulse)
• Hayate the Combat Butler, Vol. 44 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
• Home Office Romance (WinterVenom, Behind the Manga)
• H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu (Tom Shapira, Solrad)
• I Was Sold Dirt Cheap But My Power Is Off the Charts, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
• Kaiju No. 8, Vol. 11 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
• Last Quarter, Vol. 1 (Megan D., The Manga Test Drive)
• Let’s Do It Already, Vol. 5 (Josh Piedra, The Outerhaven)
• Love Bullet, Vol. 1 (Erica Friedman, Okazu)
• Luciole Has a Dream, Vol. 1 (Sarah, Anime UK News)
• Lycoris Recoil, Vol. 1 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
• Marriage Toxin, Vol. 4 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
• The Moon on a Rainy Night, Vol. 6 (Erica Friedman, Okazu)
• My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 2 (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
• My Hero Academia Team-Up Missions, Vol. 5 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
• Nichijiou: My Ordinary Life, Vol. 10 (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
• Oshi no Ko, Vol. 8 (darkstorm, Anime UK News)
• The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter, Vol. 5 (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
• Pupposites Attract, Vol. 2 (Demelza, Anime UK News)
• Rainbows After Storms, Vol. 1 (Erica Friedman, Okazu)
• RuriDragon, Vol. 1 (Renee Scott, Good Comics for Kids)
• Scars, Vol. 1 (Lauren Orsini, ANN)
• Skip Beat!, Vols. 7-8-9 (SKJAM! Reviews)
• A Smart and Courageous Child (Giovanni Stigliano, Asian Movie Pulse)
• Stitches: Short Stories (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
• There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless…, Vols. 1-6 (Rebecca Silverman, ANN)
• Three Exorcism Siblings, Vol. 1 (Matt, No Flying No Tights)
• Tougen Anki, Vol. 1 (Adam Symchuk, Asian Movie Pulse)
• Undead Unluck, Vol. 17 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)
• Viral Hit, Vol. 1 (MrAJCosplay, Anime News Network)
• The Walking Cat: A Cat’s Eye View of the Zombie Apocalypse (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
• Working for God in a Godless World, Vol. 1 (Manga Alerts, Behind the Manga)
• X-Men: The Manga: Remastered, Vol. 1 (Renee Scott, Good Comics for Kids)
• Yonoi Tsukihiko’s Happy Hell, Vol. 1 (Danica Davidson, Otaku USA)
• Yonoi Tsukihiko’s Happy Hell, Vol. 1 (That Manga Hunter)
• You and I Are Polar Opposites, Vol. 3 (King Baby Duck, The Boston Bastard Brigade)