Manga the Week of 9/11

SEAN: Manga is here, let’s to’t.

Dark Horse has the 27th volume of Blade of the Immortal, one of Dark Horse’s long-running prestige manga titles. It’s still badass.

ASH: That it is! Blade of the Immortal was one of the first manga series that I started reading and I’m still hooked on it.

MICHELLE: I read the first volume and was really impressed by the art, and I own a bunch more of it, but I’ve still never continued. The same thing happened with Vagabond too, actually.

ANNA: I read the first three volumes or so and really liked it. If I ever stumble across a library with a good chunk of this series, I would check it out again. Vagabond as always has my eternal devotion, I think I might be behind with one or two of the VizBig editions.

MJ: I wish I’d gotten hooked early on. At this point the length feels so daunting! Yet I feel I’d probably love it.

SEAN: They also have the 4th volume of OreImo. No spoilers in the comments, bitter fans of the anime. (I wonder if OreImo will pull a School Rumble in terms of sales now that the ending is out in Japan?)

DMP have a BL title coming out called Priceless Honey. Seems to be a short story collection from the author of Punch Up!.

MJ: I’m not big on BL anthologies, but I did like Punch Up!…

SEAN: Kodansha have the 2nd to last Arisa, which I got very, very behind on. Luckily, it’s out digitally now, so I can try to catch up!

ASH: I’m a bit behind on Arisa as well, but it had a great start and I’ve been meaning to read more of it.

MICHELLE: I’ve read through volume ten. It’s become rather snickerworthy, as I noted in brief back in June, but I’m still planning to see it through to the end.

ANNA: I haven’t read this, for some reason Kodansha’s current shoujo releases don’t appeal to me very much, but I’m looking forward to some of the new series they’ve recently announced!

Not out digitally (here or in Japan) but certainly out in print is the first collection of Sailor Moon Short Stories. These ran in Nakayoshi’s sister magazines throughout the run of the manga, and originally were interspersed through the original volumes. The re-release collected them all at the end. This first of two volumes collects the Chibi-Usa side stories, and the Exam Battles starring the other Inners. It also has my 2nd favorite Sailor Moon manga moment.

MICHELLE: I’m not sure how wise it was to put the short stories in their own collection. True, this way they don’t interrupt the main flow of the narrative, but when I read the Japanese edition this way I was sort of… underwhelmed. Maybe they’ll fare better in English.

ANNA: One of these days I will marathon Sailor Moon, I feel like I should block out a day and stock up on Sailor Moon reading supplies. I’m envisioning a lot of sweet milky tea and many star-shaped cookies.

SEAN: I’ve come to love His Favorite without ever reading it, just for the look of disgust on the face of the uke on every single cover. It’s an absolute delight, and I hope he’s just as grouchy in the manga itself. Vol. 5 is out this week.

MJ: I’m a volume behind on this now, but the manga really is as delightful as its covers, in my experience. And that character is pretty grouchy. It could sort of read as an AU xxxHolic fanfic, if that gives you some sense of what you’re in for.

SEAN: Also out from SubLime is The Man of Tango, which sounds like it should star Robert Vaughn and David McCallum. The cover art for this is easily the best design SubLime’s ever done (their cover design has been a very weak point to date), and really looks smokingly passionate. This apparently has previously unpublished content as well.

ASH: I’m very excited about the release of The Man of Tango! Originally licensed by Aurora but never released, I was thrilled to see SuBLime pick it up.

ANNA: I don’t read a ton of yaoi, but this was one manga that I actually pre-ordered when Aurora was supposed to release it. Glad this is coming out finally, I found the title and cover of this manga very intriguing.

MJ: I’m looking forward to this as well!

SEAN: Udon still puts out manga, and not just artbooks. Today, it’s Disgaea 3: School of Devils 2. Next week, Arsenal 4, Tottenham nil.

And a trio from Viz. 07-GHOST just ended in Japan last month, but fear not, there’s still a lot to go before we catch up. Here’s Vol. 6.

MICHELLE: It seems like volumes of this series are appearing like bunnies! Soon we’ll be caught up with Go!Comi, if we’re not already!

ANNA: ACK, I’m three volumes behind now! I do like this series, though.

MJ: I am too, yikes!

SEAN: Arata: The Legend is about a year and a half behind Japan, which is not uncommon for a Shonen Sunday mid-list title, even if it is by Yuu Watase. Here’s Vol. 15.

MICHELLE: I do enjoy Arata, even if I can’t get as squeeful about it as, say, Genbu Kaiden.

ANNA: Genbu Kaiden deserves all the squees!

MJ: Agreed, re: Genbu Kaiden. I’m iffy on Arata.

SEAN: And Vol. 22 of Hayate the Combat Butler, which is 3 1/2 years behind Japan and growing farther away every biannual release, but sadly, sales. The manga is still in Greece, and this volume has what may be one of the best romantic heartbreakers of the entire series to date.

Anything strike your fancy?