Anne Happy, Vol. 2 | By Cotoji | Yen Press – This would appear to be one of those titles that is fun and cute provided you do not take it remotely seriously, because serious analysis of this sort of this can be horrifying. Hanako’s bad luck is really pretty terrible, Botan’s consecutive injuries would have her hospitalized or dead in any other title, and Hibari must be close to exhaustion from having to play the straight man all the time. In this volume the girls show they can’t even win a simple board game or cook a decent meal without disasters, though they do manage to achieve a scavenger hunt. I’m with the new, as yet unnamed teacher, though—even assuming this IS bad luck, is it really something to be cured with this class? Fun but frustrating. – Sean Gaffney
Behind the Scenes!!, Vol. 2 | By Bisco Hatori | Viz Media – I was hoping that the second volume of this series would focus more on the extended cast of the Art Squad, so I was happy to see chapters with Maasa and Izumi as a focus. The first part of this volume focuses on the Art Squad intervening in a romance gone wrong, where their abilities to make a girl’s room look filthy makes exactly the right kind of wrong impression. Maasa reveals that she’s interested in getting a college boyfriend, but her deep devotion to special effects make-up might be getting in the way. Izumi’s personality ends up having consequences for his health. Overall, this was another pleasantly diverting volume with a focus on people making things, I’m enjoying this series. – Anna N
Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 6 | By Junko | Kodansha Comics – If Kiss Him, Not Me hadn’t been that big a hit, or if the popularity was fading, this might have been the final volume, and indeed much of the first half seems to be leading up to Kae finally making a decision about which guy she likes (or which girl—it’s impressive that they really do have Shima’s confession be as earnest as the four guys). But Kae is not after romance, she is after BL, and thus in the end the choice is obvious—choosing nobody because she’s obsessed with a new TV series. The second half is more light-hearted, showing off the dangers of BL pairing wars and how just ‘who tops?’ can lead to hurt feelings and declarations of war. I shouldn’t be enjoying this as much as I am, but it’s just dumb, cute fun. – Sean Gaffney
Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear, Vol. 1 | By Masume Yoshimoto | One Peace Books – Lately we’ve seen quite a bit of the ‘cute fluff that should be for kids, but is written for an adult audience’ type of manga, and Kuma Miko falls squarely into that category. Taking place in the middle of the country, most of the volume does indeed deal with the relationship between Machi, a young miko who’s easily flustered and overcompensates a lot of the time, and Natsu, a bear who sometimes enjoys messing with her but mostly acts like a sort of sempai. The manga had an anime recently, and was infamous for the history of the village involving human/bear sexual relations. It’s actually a bit more explicit here. If you enjoy bizarre manga, you’ll like this, but it’s no Chi’s Sweet Home, be warned. – Sean Gaffney
Skip Beat!, Vol. 37 | By Yoshiki Nakamura | VIZ Media – Skip Beat! is consistently good, but I found this volume to be especially so. Since the beginning, Kyoko’s inevitable reunion with her cold-hearted mother has been looming on the horizon, and now that it’s finally here, it does not disappoint. At first, Kyoko succeeds in telling herself that she isn’t hurt when she runs into her mother and is totally ignored, but when Saena Mogami later denies on national television that she even has a child, it’s a devastating blow. I love how worried everyone is for Kyoko—even Sho—and I really, really love the final scene where she “mistakes” Ren for Corn and hurls herself into his arms, finally allowing herself to cry. The expressions he makes are amazing. Way to keep us on tenterhooks ’til the next volume, Nakamura-sensei! – Michelle Smith
That Wolf-Boy Is Mine!, Vol. 1 | By Yoko Nogiri | Kodansha Comics – Saying that your manga is perfect for fans of Fruits Basket is a somewhat high bar to clear, but Kodansha thinks that it’s on to a winner. And indeed, this fist volume is very enjoyable. Komugi transferred from Tokyo to Hokkaido after being bullied at school, and tries to start her life over, but immediately stumbles upon the secret of the school’s hottest guys—they’re all animals who live as humans. It’s sort of a reverse Furuba, where the animals can turn human but are really beasts. This may be why the budding feelings Komugi has for Yu, the wolf of the group, are expressly forbidden, and indeed somewhat awkward to think about if you go too deep. If you don’t, this is quite sweet and touching. – Sean Gaffney
Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 3 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Many sports manga involve the same tropes. Training camps, prefectural tournaments, aiming for the inter-high championships… The fact that this volume of Yowamushi Pedal features all three of these things does not dim my enjoyment in the least, because it uses them to motivate its three primary characters while at the same time fleshing out some of the older members of Sohoku’s cycling team. I especially love that, unlike in some series, the talented rookies are not the team’s saviors. In fact, the third-year members are all amazing, and the second-years have been working hard, too. The gruelling training camp is the proving ground for who’s got what it takes to make it to the inter-high battle, and another standout moment is Onoda’s willingness to do whatever he can to see that his two best friends are able to make it. Once again, I was bummed when another hefty volume drew to a close. – Michelle Smith