Genshiken: Second Season, Vol. 8 | By Shimoku Kio | Kodansha Comics – The first half of this volume has a lot of amusing antics, but let’s face it, the second half is where the truly eye-popping stuff happens. Madarame is still having trouble getting his head around the fact that four different people are interested in him, and confesses to Kugayama (when did we last see HIM in this series?) that he thinks he’s just nervous as he’s still a virgin. So he gets talked into going to a host club, and naturally it’s the one Keiko works at. What follows shows off that Madarame has more issues than just his lack of experience to work through—if he can’t notice Keiko trying to get into his pants THAT blatantly, then there’s something terribly wrong. Will this subplot be ending anytime soon, however? Or is it the main plot? – Sean Gaffney
Kimi ni Todoke, Vols. 24 | By Karuho Shiina | Viz Media – Usually, I don’t mind the slow pace of this series, as it has a mood that would be somewhat ruined by Hakusensha-style fast-paced violence. I will admit, though, I did think this volume dragged a bit, as we wait endlessly for Sawako to realize what everyone else does first: she wants to go to the educational university, not the one Kazehaya is going to. As for our other couples (or ex-couples), Chizuru and Ryu are dating but she still struggles with the fact that cheering him on means separating. And Yano is discovering that getting into a top-flight university really is as hard as it seems. This is still an excellent series, of course, and I’m hoping the next volume will give us more forward progression. – Sean Gaffney
Love Stage!!, Vol. 5 | By Eiki Eiki and Taishi Zaou | SuBLime – After showing signs of improvement in the previous volume, Love Stage!! trots out some truly eyeroll-inspiring material in volume five. After arguing with Izumi about the time he’s spending with their lecherous producer and being intimidated by Izumi’s acting talent, Ryoma is rendered incapable of performing. Instead of dwelling on their professional rivalry, which might’ve been interesting, we instead get a plot in which the producer’s hypnosis causes Ryoma to forget Izumi entirely, leading to much angst and, ultimately, the two of them falling off a cliff. Yes, really. And then they have to huddle together for warmth because a freak thunderstorm has delayed the search party. Siiiiigh. And yet, I will probably read the next volume anyway. – Michelle Smith
Oresama Teacher, Vol. 20 | By Izumi Tsubaki | VIZ Media – With Hayasaka’s memory now restored, volume twenty first clears up his (needlessly) complicated family circumstances before moving on to reveal the nature of the arrangement Momochi and Hanabusa have made. I like that Hanabusa has been shown to be a good guy, and liked too that Aki was disgruntled that the gang kept Hayasaka’s recovery a secret from him in order to ensnare Momochi, but this is a series that doesn’t delve deep into its characters, so instead of more time with either of them, we get an interlude about Mafuyu and Okegawa unknowingly being penpals (bonus: there are panels from the overworked carrier pigeon’s POV!) and a fast-forward to a Christmas party, during which Hayasaka might’ve figured out Mafuyu is Super Bun! I hope he really did, but I expect comedic deflection in the next volume. We shall see! – Michelle Smith
Shomin Sample: I was Abducted by an Elite All-Girls School as a Sample Commoner, Vol. 1 | By Risumai and Takafumi Nanatsuki | Seven Seas – I almost didn’t get this simply because of the reprehensible cover, and I still cringed every time there was a blatant panty shot in this series. That said, there were one or two moments in the book that I was indeed amused, which shows off my low standards if nothing else. The story is pretty much given in the subtitle above, and most of the good humor relies on the sheltered young girls being naive about everything, The bad humor relies on things like panty shots, walking in on someone in the bath, and whenever our hero isn’t being a smartass (as that’s his best trait). If you read Seven Seas and Yen’s skeezier titles, this is right up your alley. For others, I’d pass, even though it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. – Sean Gaffney
The Wallflower, Vol. 36 | By Tomoko Hayakawa | Kodansha Comics – Spoilers: no, they don’t. But honestly, if that surprises you, you were reading the wrong series. Hayakawa has said for eons she’s good at comedy and bad at romance, and that shows in the final volume of The Wallflower, which at least makes an effort to hit the series’ core themes: Sunako likes dark, Halloween-ish stuff; Sunako can be quite the lady when she tries, but doesn’t care to; and Kyohei and Sunako are perfect for each other and both are ignoring that fact heavily. There’s more non-SD Sunako here than in many, many volumes, which is a nice treat for the readers. I’ve always enjoyed this series even past its sell-by date, but admit it’s time for it to end. And so it has. – Sean Gaffney