Fate/Zero, Vol. 3 | By Gen Urobuchi, Type-Moon, and Shinjiro | Dark Horse – I did say last time that the series was going to get darker, and boy howdy I was not wrong. No amount of cute shots of Rin as a child or amusing scenes of Irisviel driving like a maniac can really make up for the main thrust of the latter half of the book, which is that Caster is Bluebeard, an insane murderer (though historians now doubt this), and his master Ryunosuke is even worse. There are numerous scenes of women and children gleefully butchered, which I’m sure were quite lovingly described in the original novel but which the manga adds an extra dollop of horror to. Oh yes, and we also see what’s happening to Sakura, which if you’ve never played Heaven’s Feel may come as a shock. Horrifying but good. – Sean Gaffney
Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma, Vol. 14 | By Yuto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki | Viz Media – I was expecting Soma to level up and learn that he still had room to grow while working for Shinomiya, and I wasn’t wrong. The better part was seeing how far Shinomiya has come, given how much of an antagonist he was about ten volumes ago. He’s tough but never unfair, really knows his stuff, and I loved his backstory showing how his love for French food stemmed from his mother’s love of it. His staff were also fun, and it’s always wonderful to see Hinako again. But the arc is over, and there’s a nice montage of the main cast showing off their own growth aside from Soma. Now they earn the reward, which is a picnic with the top ten in the school. If you guessed they were all eccentric lunatics, congrats. Always great. – Sean Gaffney
Haikyu!!, Vol. 4 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – Given a team as raw as the one that stars in Haikyu!!, it would be a bit of a stretch to see them winning right off the bat against other teams. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are many opportunities to see Hinata and company show off their skills, and they keep things close all the time. But the thing I liked best about this volume was the fact that the rival team won as they simply work better as a team, not a brilliantly talented collection of individuals. And, as with all sports manga, you learn more and more about the ins and outs of volleyball as you go, though thankfully not to the point it gets boring. In the end, though, Kageyama makes the best point—if that had been a tournament, everything would have been over. Time to TRAIN HARDER. – Sean Gaffney
Horimiya, Vol. 5 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – The last volume had me a little worried, but it does seem to have been a false alarm. Much of the beginning involves reactions to Miyamura’s new look, culminating in a fakeout where his supposed new admirer actually fancies Hori instead. I enjoyed that she seems to bring out his more irritable side, much like his middle-school friend Shindou does, as well as the latter mentioning that Miyamura is different with others. Miyamura insists it’s not an act, and it’s likely nothing will come of this, but it would be interesting if it did. We also get some excellent scenes with our main couple, including a kind of sexy one wherein Miyamura wonders whether it’s acceptable to try anything with her, and a cute reunion hug after he has to be out of town for a few days. I’m happy and relieved to continue to enjoy this series! – Michelle Smith
Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 22 | By Julietta Suzuki | Viz Media – This has just ended in Japan, and it’s beginning to show—this is definitely feeling like the final endgame plot. Leaving aside the fact that Nanami is slowly dying (and no, I don’t expect that to stick), the whole volume relies on Nanami’s basic goodness meaning that they cannot try the most obvious solutions to their problems. They can’t kill Akura-oh’s host, they can’t have Nanami kill a human to gain life force. Oh yes, and Tomoe finds out Nanami’s little secret, which leads to him, impatient as ever, scarfing the (temporary?) cure to hug her and berate her from keeping things from him. I’m not sure exactly how fluffy this ending is going to be, but I’m enjoying the journey it’s taking to get there. – Sean Gaffney
My Monster Secret, Vol. 4 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – This continues to be an excellent combination of hilarious mayhem and cute romance, in that order. Which means that if you want a payoff right away, be prepared to be frustrated. Asahi and Youka are adorable and clearly meant to be together, but they’re both such shy, awkward dorks that I think it will be at least ten more volumes. Luckily, there is the humor to tide us over, being the destruction of a brand new car, the all-in attempt to get a rare hamburger, and the least subtle UFO ever. There’s also new characters, be it Youko’s parents, who are pretty much exactly as you’d expect, and a granddaughter from the future, who is more of a cliffhanger. This makes me laugh a lot, especially the art. – Sean Gaffney
Say I Love You., Vol. 16 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – It’s been a long time since my husband and I were in a long-distance relationship, but this volume of Say I Love You. expertly evoked those memories. Mei and Yamato are pursing their individual dreams and attending different schools. They do their best to keep in touch, but their schedules make it difficult to find time to see each other, and each is meeting new people and having new experiences independently. When Takeshi seems on the verge of dumping Asami in favor of a college classmate, and Mei finds out Yamato was spotted out with a woman (when he’d only said he’d be with “a friend”), she is thrown into turmoil. It’s great to see a shoujo series acknowledge that high school romances don’t always work out, and that people change and grow apart. I still doubt that’ll happen here, but it’s nice to feel like it’s a real possibility! – Michelle Smith
Say “I Love You,” Vol. 16 | By Kanae Hazuki | Kodansha Comics – Let’s face it, much as I find Asami fun, the relationship between her and Takeshi was the least developed one in this series, possibly as it was one of the first. And given that the theme of this first post-high school volume is about trying to sustain such relationships past school, it’s not a surprise that theirs might be the first one to head south. From our point of view, though, it’s Mei and Yamato that may be in more trouble, as Yamato has a new friend who is clearly going after him hard, even if he doesn’t quite want to admit it. Honestly, though, the best scene in the volume may be Megumi and Rin, as Megumi’s frustrations boil over and Rin offers some much-needed help. Will this all end well? – Sean Gaffney