Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

Latest Picks

LATEST FEATURES, ESSAYS, COLUMNS, ROUNDTABLES, & REVIEWS

By

Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court, Vol. 8

By Satsuki Nakamura and Kana Yuki. Released in Japan as “Futsutsuka na Akujo dewa Gozaimasu ga: Suuguu Chouso Torikae Den” by Ichijinsha Novels. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Tara Quinn. This was supposed to be the final arc of the series, but the author says in the afterword that it’s being extended, supposedly because there’s so many stories still to tell, but also probably because this sells quite well in Japan. That said, I get the feeling the bulk of this volume may have been written before the series got the OK to continue, as there’s very much a “headed into the final act” feel to this, with the danger ramped up even more, and with one of the most violent and hard to read sequences in…

Read More

By

Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite, Vol 1

Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite Volume 1 by Julietta Suzuki Hina is an otaku vampire who has decided to move to Japan to devote herself to her fandom, an anime called Vampire Cross. She’s basically a shut-in, only venturing out to try to score limited edition items at merch drops. She takes occasional calls from her father who seems supportive of her lifestyle choices but can’t help reminding her that vampires sometimes find a special human who they want to bite. Hina is resolute in her decision to only drink from blood bags and fully indulge her fangirl nature. She does become distracted one day by her next door neighbor who looks exactly like Mao, the character she’s obsessed with. Kyuta recoils in disgust initially when he realizes that Hina is…

Read More

By

From Villainess to Healer, Vol. 1

By Punichan and Yoh Hihara. Released in Japan as “Kaifukushoku no Akuyaku Reijō” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Adam Seacord. I do appreciate that an author might feel that the villainess genre is played out. There have been many, many, MANY villainess books in the last eight years or so. They all tend towards specific types. Some have the villainess actively trying to change her fate, as they were reincarnated long before the “break off the engagement” event. Some have them fighting death after they’re unable to avoid that fate. Sometimes they go to a different country, where they’re welcomed with open arms. Hell, this particular author will do almost the exact same premise and first chapter in a later book – you…

Read More

By

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…

Read More

By

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 9

By Yuishi and Kagachisaku. Released in Japan as “Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game de Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gal ga, Dō Mitemo Boku ni Beta Bore Des” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara. I honestly hope that this series does get an anime some day. Not just because it’s cute and sexy and all that. Some of you may recall back in the day there was a manga called My Dress-Up Darling, which also spawned an anime. That anime spawned Episode 11 of same. And Episode 11 spawned 80 million fanfics on AO3, the basic summary is “but what if they’d had sex?”. And that’s not going to happen with a light-novel only series like this is now, but if it…

Read More

By , , and

Manga the Week of 1/15/25

SEAN: Somehow it’s still 2025. ASH: My brain has managed to jump ahead to 2026 and back to 2024 simultaneously, which I guess evens out to 2025? SEAN: In print, Airship has I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince 2. MICHELLE: I like the title, at least! SEAN: And digitally they have True Love Fades Away When the Contract Ends 2. Drawn and Quarterly debuts a classic, The Legend of Kamui (Kamui Den). This 60s manga was serialized in Garo, and is NOT the 80s version that was put out by Viz Media. An Edo-Period historical drama with ninjas, it’s so influential even Tezuka praised it for bringing drama and ideology to manga. This is the first…

Read More

By

I Could Never Be a Succubus!, Vol. 5

By Nora Kohigashi and Wasabi. Released in Japan as “Watashi wa Succubus Ja Arimasen” by Hero Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Roy Nukia. (This review assumes you want to be spoiled about the last third of the book.) I will always love the fact that this series is “come for the horny, stay for the funny”. And rest assured, this is still a very horny series. But there are several points in this volume where it appears that the book is finally going to take a bit of a serious bent, and then it absolutely takes a wild leap back into the broadest comedy. And that’s good, as this is one of the few light novel series that does broad comedy really well. Even the…

Read More

By

Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter: The Angel That Broke the Star Oath

By Riku Nanano and cura. Released in Japan as “Koujo Denka no Kateikyoushi” by Fujimi Fantasia Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by William Varteresian. I’ve talked before about how this series really loves being a harem title, but it’s not just that the harem writing is done very well (though it is). It’s that the harem antics actually manage to take over every OTHER aspect of the series. The battle scenes are crisp and action-filled, and also filled with banter as the heroines literally encourage each other by saying that they’re going to be the one who marries Allen, forcing the other person to fight EVEN HARDER so that they can deny that possibility. We get the tragic backstory that has led to much of this…

Read More

By

Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters!, Vol. 7

By KAYA and Naru. Released in Japan as “Tensei Shōjo wa Mazu Ippo kara Hajimetai: Mamono ga Iru toka Kiitenai!” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Amy Osteraas. All right, I apologize, I was reading one of the main plotlines wrong. There’s no real defending it, I had forgotten how this series begins, with Sarasa shunted into this world with her massive piles of mana in order to save it. So when I kept seeing her having to fight off monsters that surprised everyone by showing up all of a sudden, I assumed it was due to her being a monster attractor. But no, I should have realized the more important fact, which is that, with the arrival of a new girl in this…

Read More

More Features & Reviews