SEAN: As always with the start of the month, there’s a lot of titles I could pick. So I’ll go with the one that only comes out about once a year due to a slow release schedule in Japan, Toradora!. Of all the romantic comedies starring a small tsundere girl and her put-upon not-boyfriend, this is my favorite, because for once nothing overbalances. The humor is just right, the heartwarming is there when needed, there’s lots of drama and character development, and even the romantic triangle is well-paced. If most tsundere love comedies make you recoil in horror, you should give this one a try anyway.
MICHELLE: I’m going with the 3-in-1 edition of High School Debut. This is one of those series that I love with my whole heart, and I’m happy that those who missed it the first time will have another chance to check it out. One thing I particularly like about it is that you really get to know Yoh, the boyfriend, and that he talks about things with his friends. Sometimes you wonder what the cool-looking boy sees in the slightly daffy female lead, but here there’s no uncertainty about that.
ASH: Out of all the manga being released this week, the one that I am most curious about is the second volume of A Centaur’s Life. After a somewhat…awkward…first chapter, the series actually becomes rather charming and has already shown huge potential for some excellent world-building.
ANNA: I’m also going to have to go with High School Debut. This is a great shoujo series, and one of the rare cases where the daffy female lead is utterly endearing.
MJ: I’ve been just about convinced on A Centaur’s Life, thanks to Ash and a few influential comments from readers, but this week, I can’t help joining Michelle and Anna in their enthusiasm for High School Debut. I was initially pretty uninterested in this series, and then Michelle lured me in with her own copies of the series’ early volumes. It’s completely charming, and I think the 3-in-1 release may tempt me to pick up this series for my own library.
What looks good to you this week?
Rachel says
February 3, 2014 at 3:42 pmSince I had a coupon for B&N anyway, I went ahead and used it to order the High School Debut omnibus. It’s one of my favorites of its genre and the omnibus might be my excuse to finally add it to my collection. :)
Aaron says
February 4, 2014 at 9:28 amI went with Dragonar Academy good to see Ash went with Centaur’s Life I pre-ordered that so it’s tied up with a bunch of other stuff so mine won’t be coming until the 25th of this month. Also nice to see Toradora get some love but having watched the Anime adaptation of it I find the pacing of the Manga dreadfully slow not to mention the way Yasuko was written bugs me yes she’s dippy but not that dippy.