A Certain Scientific Accelerator, Vol. 4 | By Kazuma Kamachi and Arata Yamachi| Seven Seas – The majority of the fight in this all-fight volume does not actually feature the titular character, and with good reason: Accelerator is just too overpowered for the mid-level evil teen group that’s here. But that’s OK, as we get to see Kato and Estelle put up a really good fight, and, like Aiho in the last book, get to show they’re not there merely to get rescued before, well, they are. And when Accelerator does arrive, we are reminded that a) these really are inexperienced kids, riding high on confidence they don’t really have, and b) Accelerator is TERRIFYING. He’s not a hero, that’s Touma or Mikoto. That said, he can fulfill a hero’s function. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney
Genshiken: Second Season, Vol. 9 | By Shimoku Kio | Kodansha Comics – I asked last time if Madarame’s harem antics were the main plot of Genshiken now, and it’s clear that yes indeed they are. This is somewhat disappointing to many fans (most fans?), as getting Madarame laid is not really why any of us really read Genshiken—or at least, now that Saki is out of it. Still, Kio tries his best to keep our interest, and there is a nice subplot involving Hato and Yajima’s competing manga, and why Hato is coming up short. It also speaks to the value of constructive criticism. But it is just a subplot—the main plot is things like Sue trying to stop herself blushing and panicking whenever she has to deal with Madarame, or a field trip to Yajima’s house that ends in drunken shenanigans. This is the manga Genshiken is now, and while I enjoyed it I would not blame anyone for dropping it. – Sean Gaffney
Horimiya, Vol. 5 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – There is a lot less of Hori being a standard angry blushing anime girl here, and it’s all for the better. Indeed, she and Miyamura really are trying to get closer and take the next step in their relationship, but events are conspiring against them. In addition, Miyamura is having to deal with the fact that, having changed his image, he’s now being found attractive by others—much to his chagrin. Slightly less welcome in this mix is Sawada, a girl whose obsession with breaking Hori and Miyamura up turns out to be a different kind of twisted love, but it really didn’t connect with me—I like her better as a lonely girl dealing with the loss of her brother than as the lesbian stalker. A good, solid volume of romantic comedy. – Sean Gaffney
Kiss Him, Not Me!, Vol. 7 | By Junko | Kodansha Comics – This series has always been better when hitting the comedy rather than the romance, in the tradition of The Wallflower, a series it sometimes resembles. And the good news is this is a particularly funny volume, featuring Kae and Shima’s fangirling even managing to come out at shrine remembrances, a haunted island that leads to a lot of wackiness as well as some close calls, and perhaps most importantly, Kae may actually be seeing Igarashi as a man she is attracted to, as opposed to wanting him in BL fantasies. Of course, Nanashima won’t take this lying down, but I suspect he will regret that forced kiss (if he remembers it—the trouble with bad colds). If you like shenanigans, this is a good manga to read. – Sean Gaffney
Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 3-4 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – This second omnibus takes place during a tournament, and does a very good job of showing how intense and grueling those can be—especially when you move on and have to play another team later in the day. Keeping your energy can be next to impossible, and we see both of our heroes benched at one point, which of course also helps to show off the skills of the rest of the team. (The funniest moment in the volume is seeing how their manager “motivates” Junpei to play well.) The other teams are no slouches, though, in particular Midorima, who seems to be able to sink a basket whenever and wherever he likes. Even he can’t defeat the cliffhanger ending, though. This works well in omnibuses. – Sean Gaffney
Liselotte & Witch’s Forest, Vol. 2 | By Natsuki Takaya | Yen Press – Takaya-sensei herself admits that volume one proceeded at a leisurely pace, but volume two is quite the opposite. While we don’t learn the entire story of what happened to Enrich, we learn the majority of it, and it’s pretty fascinating. I especially loved that, once Engetsu is injured protecting her from an assassin who’s come back to finish the job, Liselotte carries him home herself, all the while castigating herself for all the questions she never asked him, even though whenever she tried he looked so sad that she backed off. I do like awareness of one’s own flaws as a character trait. Ultimately, this is a very satisfying volume that manages to provide some major answers and yet not all of them. Heartily recommended. – Michelle Smith
Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade, Vol. 4 | By Koyuki and Mamare Touno | Yen Press – First of all, the first 20 pages of this volume were appalling, and I highly recommend skipping them—they’re totally irrelevant to the rest of the book. The rest of the book is pretty solid, continuing to advance the events happening away from Shiro in the first and second book. We see how the food Marielle and company are selling is causing near riots and theft. We see more of the People of the Earth becoming sentient and sympathetic, especially Sara, the West Wind Brigade housekeeper. And we see that Soujiro is simply not suited to some things, as the riot is broken up by Magus, who is using her power now for good rather than evil. Deus ex machina with the appearance potion, though. – Sean Gaffney
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 20 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media –For a while, this almost feels like a series finale. The villain—a “crystallization of magoi and black rukh” whose origins I didn’t completely understand—is so tough that not even the combined forces of thirteen metal-vessel users, including badasses Sinbad and Koen (and the latter’s siblings, save Hakuryu) can defeat it. It was nice to see Morgiana again, and I also wonder if there was some intentional hinting going on about Sinbad’s future path. Mostly, though, I liked how a certain character’s sacrifice was the key to the good guys winning the day, and the absolutely surprising and lovely outcome of their act. If you like shounen adventure with the capacity to make you verklempt, you should be reading Magi. And yes, I’m talking to you, MJ. – Michelle Smith
So Cute It Hurts!!, Vol. 9 | By Go Ikeyamada | VIZ Media – There is absolutely nothing cute about this volume of manga whatsoever. There is, however, an abundance of dumb. There’s dumb plotting, in which Megumi is convinced Aoi hates her now because she asked about a scar on his shoulder and he ran away, leading to a plot wherein she is kidnapped by a group of random thugs who want to teach some other guy a lesson. But mostly Megumi herself is dumb, and can’t even hide properly from the thugs. Massive eyeroll. In any case, we find out why Aoi wears an eyepatch and, surprise surprise, it’s because his eye is missing. Why else would anyone wear an eye patch for two years?! Anyway, I suspect Megumi will learn about his traumtic injury and accept him anyway (after being dumb, of course) but I think I am well and truly cured of any curiosity I possessed about this series. – Michelle Smith