Assassination Classroom, Vol. 13 | By Yusei Matsui | Viz Media -As this series goes on, it’s taken a turn for the dark. Not surprising given it’s about child assassins, but there honestly hasn’t been any actual assassination yet. At least not for the kids—a flashback to Irina’s past shows just how young she was when she started her seduction assassinations, and it’s clear she targeted lolicons. As if that weren’t enough, we meet Nagisa’s mother in this volume, and find out a lot about why he is the way he is—she’s a horribly abusive parent, emotionally manipulating him into having the life she didn’t—even if he’s a boy. It’s a sign of Nagisa’s growing moral sense that he doesn’t choose to give up on her. Still excellent, but this volume adds “grim” to that. – Sean Gaffney
Black Butler, Vol. 23 | By Yana Toboso | Yen Press – I don’t love Black Butler or particularly care about the characters, but I continue to follow it in a desultory fashion. In this volume, Ciel and Sebastian are tasked with investigating a music hall that enchants rich and poor alike. The chief suspect is a fortune-teller who discerns Sebastian’s nature right away, so we get lots of Ciel investigating on his own while Sebastian lurks about outside, foisting his affections onto alley cats. The highlight of the volume is an absurd, multi-page boy-band-esque performance by the prefects Ciel encountered a few volumes ago. Though there’s really nothing here that moves or interests me in any profound way, I will probably keep reading it nonetheless. – Michelle Smith
Danganronpa: The Animation, Vol. 3 | By Spike Chunsoft and Takashi Tsukimi | Dark Horse – As with the previous volume, the big weakness of this adaptation is its rushed pacing—at times it was hard to follow what was going on, such as Monokuma killing off the Chihiro AI computer, which felt out of nowhere. We winnow the cast down further, and this time the murderer is not as sympathetic—make that murderers, as we have some multiple manipulations going on here. Much of the second half revolves around us trying to believe that optimistic girl Aoi is the next murderer, which is so unlikely that I’m relieved that they didn’t bother to drag it out. As it is, though, things wrap up next volume, so is anyone else going to die? Aside from the bear that started all this. – Sean Gaffney
Magia the Ninth, Vol. 1 | By Ichiya Sazanami | Seven Seas – Given the sheer number of ‘demon hunter’ manga out now, which are all a variety on ‘groups of people hunt ghosts/yokai/demons that possess humans and turn their emotions negative,’ you really need to be unique in order to keep people reading. The creator of Magia the Ninth tries to do it by using classical music—the bishonen demon hunters in this series are all named after composers, and their magic attacks are their most famous works. There’s also some attempts at goofy humor to lighten the mood a bit. Still, apparently it wasn’t all that unique, as it wraps up in volume two, which means that a lot of the characters and foreshadowing being doled out here won’t amount to much. Something of a trifle. – Sean Gaffney
Masamune-kun’s Revenge, Vol. 3 | By Hazuki Takeoka and Tiv | Seven Seas – There aren’t any major new characters or plotlines introduced in this third volume, and as such it feels a bit like it’s coasting. Of course, there’s still a lot to play around with. Masamune can’t get his revenge if Aki hates him, so he has to work on that. As always, he fares much better when he’s not being manipulative. I wish I could say the same for Neko, but I suspect that she may be the villain here, and volume four may end up shredding a lot of plans. Other than that, there’s really not much going on here—like Masamune, the series feels like it’s backsliding a bit and getting flabby. To be fair, it was hard to top the start, which may be Aki’s most glorious rejection yet. At its best when she’s at her worst. – Sean Gaffney
Sword Art Online: Girls’ Ops, Vol. 2 | By Neko Nekobyou and Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – Well, last volume was very comedic, but this one certainly isn’t. It turns out we haven’t heard all of Lux’s past, and like everything else in the Sword Art Online series to date it’s intertwined with the death guild Laughing Coffin. Honestly, having them use lackeys that they brand and threaten with death—I think they’d rape her if they could get away with it in SAO, frankly—is one of those “of COURSE they did that” moments, and Lux is sweet enough that it really hurts. Now, of course, her past is being used against her by a nihilist comrade with a grudge against her magically having new friends. Guess how well Lisbeth and company will take that. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney
Welcome to the Ballroom, Vol. 2 | By Tomo Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – I am very relieved that the thrilling last-minute substitution, while certainly a rush for our hero, was called out for the giant illegal move it was. Unfortunately, that would seem to sideline two of our main characters—Hyodo leaves to recover and Shizuku is somewhat upset that she wasn’t informed about Hyodo’s injury. But that’s OK, as we have new characters waiting in the wings, a brother/sister team who are opposites in personality. There’s a lot going on here comparing ballroom partners with romantic partners, and to be fair Fujita does seem to mesh faster with the new girl. And then there is the art, as always the #1 reason to read this series. Addictive. – Sean Gaffney
Welcome to the Ballroom, Vol. 2 | By Tomo Takeuchi | Kodansha Comics – I have to wonder whether an editor suggested that Takeuchi write about dance simply because she draws motion so well. Even if one cannot envision the steps, the exhilaration is clear, and I particularly love the way she draws the male physique whilst dancing. Plot-wise, Tatara dances in public for the first time thanks to Sengoku and his machinations, and ends up demonstrating an uncanny ability to achieve unity with his partner. This skill is put to the test when he acquires a new partner (a middle-schooler named Mako) and challenges her brother/former partner to a duel for having had the temerity to cast her aside in favor of Shizuku. I hope we get a more in-depth look at dance competitions next time! – Michelle Smith
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 11 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical, Inc. – Every time Shiro Kakei admits to someone that he’s gay, my heart grows a size. It seems to be coming a little easier to him this time, too. In this case, he’s responding to his landlord’s inquiry, as the latter is worried he might move to Shibuya, where a same-sex partnership law has been passed. Also in this volume, Kenji buys a suit for a birthday dinner and looks like a yakuza, Shiro is double-booked for sakura-viewing (and makes delicious looking bento treats), two of the lead’s coworkers (Shino and Tabuchi) take turns cooking, and Shiro apologizes to yogurt. It’s as charming and entertaining as ever, with multiple things to make a hungry reader drool, though I’ll have to pass on the carrot and tuna salad. – Michelle Smith