The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 9 | Aya Shouoto | VIZ Media – The “delving into Aoi’s past” arc resolves here, after a neat reveal about the true nature of his ayakashi sister. With Himari’s help, Aoi was able to both remember and accept his past, and returns to normal. Yukari then reveals that, long ago, Aoi found a diary from Himari’s parents that mentioned their daughter eventually coming to Momochi House, and that he’s been waiting for her and performing omamori duties all that time so that the house wouldn’t consume her. This feels a little like a retcon, but I’ll allow it. Another thing I’ll oh-so-graciously allow is the final scene—it’s rather silly that Himari and Aoi are riding around on a dragon firework, but I sniffled when she was able to show him the lights of the town he’s protecting. And I was sure we’d end on a cruel cliffhanger ’til I turned the final page. A very strong volume! – Michelle Smith
Fate/Zero, Vol. 5 | By Gen Urobuchi, Type-Moon, and Shinjiro | Dark Horse – Fate/Zero continues to do what it does best: show off some excellent fights and magics while being about ten times as dark as Fate/Stay Night. The battle between Kayneth and Kirutsugu is fairly one-sided, though the real horror there is Sola-Ui’s fervent desire to cut off his arm and become Lancer’s new Master (it’s impled so she can sex him up). Iris and Maiya take on Kirei, meanwhile, and Kirei gets to show us that he’s good for a lot more than merely verbally abusing Shirou—he’s a major badass. Throw in a funnier omake than usual (the shirt ripping, I should note, not the tasteless Sakura rape joke), and you have a strong volume of Fate/Zero, a series that remains only for the strong of stomach. – Sean Gaffney
Flying Witch, Vol. 2 | By Chihiro Ishizuka | Vertical Comics – Flying Witch is shaping up to be one of those series where not much happens, but it’s enjoyable to spend time in the company of its characters. In this volume, Makoto and her cousins pick and eat some wild plants, meet a fortune teller who believes she’s been the victim of Akane’s (Makoto’s sister) magical experimentation, and make some uncanny candy that plays with snackers’ emotions. Although there wasn’t enough of Chito the kitty for my taste, there were still some funny non-verbal panels, and Chinatsu deciding that she wants to be a witch too will probably result in more hijinks and witchy worldbuilding. I look forward to it! – Michelle Smith
Giant Killing, Vol. 2 | By Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – We’ve waited three months for the second volume of Giant Killing and happily, it does not disappoint! The seinen slant to this series feels surprisingly fresh, dealing as it does with adults, their career trajectories, fan loyalty, etc. In this volume, we’re introduced to a showy East Tokyo United player named Prince who might be irresponsible but has the ability to think ahead that prompts Tatsumi to name him captain. Not everyone is pleased with that decision, but Tatsumi’s strategy is proven valid when ETU scores the first goal in their match against much-favored Tokyo Victory, league champions two years running, thanks to Prince and inconsistent newcomer Tsubaki. Manga soccer matches are so much more interesting than real-life soccer matches! Only a month to wait for volume three! – Michelle Smith
The High School Life of a Fudanshi, Vol. 1 | By Atami Michinoku | Seven Seas – Seventeen-year-old Ryo is a closet fudanshi. He has shared his secret with his friend, Nakamura, and throughout a series of 4-koma strips, proceeds to explain his hobby, fanboy over a couple of guys he thinks are gay, make friends with a fujoshi, attend a doujinshi event, recoil when a couple of attendees think he is gay, etc. Exceedingly few punchlines are even slightly amusing, and most are downright lame. Too, the treatment of a flamboyant gay character is problematic. I did smile at Ryo’s reaction to the squishy sound effects on a BL drama CD, and completely sympathize with the geeky logic of refusing to pay $40 for a shirt while eagerly dropping the same amount on fandom items, but I shan’t be continuing this series. – Michelle Smith
The Honor Student at Magic High School, Vol. 7 | By Tsutomu Sato and Yu Mori | Yen Press – Most of this volume is devoted to manga-only characters and battles, with Amy getting a taste of the spotlight and showing that she can be a funny gag character while still having dramatic scenes. More to the point, her victory here reinforces what we know from the novels—people who have Tatsuya help them win, people who don’t do not. As such, what we really need is a battle between two competitors who Tatsuki can help equally, and that’s Shizuku and Miyuki. The confrontation isn’t going to be seen till next time, and thanks to the books we know how it turns out, but there are some nice scenes with Shizuku and Tatsuya to show off her determination and will. A very good side manga. – Sean Gaffney
Of the Red, the Light, and the Ayakashi, Vol. 7 | By nanao and HaccaWorks* | Yen Press – There’s certainly a lot more forward movement than we’d had in the past couple of volumes, though I still spend some time needing to remind myself which pretty boy is which when we start a new book. I was happy to see Hina come to the rescue of her brother, even if it meant the realization that she too is not what she seems and not really his sister, though she cherished their time together. As for Yue, he’s still—for some reason—having trouble connecting the dots between ‘eating’ someone and ‘killing’ them, which unfortunately makes his naivete a bit aggravating right now. Still, his basic decency is all that’s standing between this title and a bloodbath, so I’ll give it to him. – Sean Gaffney
The Water Dragon’s Bride, Vol. 2 | By Rei Toma | VIZ Media – I had hoped for something more substantial from this volume, and I think Toma-sensei delivers. By far, the standout character for me in this series is the water god, so I loved seeing him begin to feel compassion, not only healing Asahi, but spending a lot of time watching over her. (These nonverbal panels are my favorites.) In his annoyance with the humans, he lets loose a flood that shows them that Asahi is under his protection, and it seems she is thereafter left alone, for years swiftly pass and we conclude the volume with she and Subaru looking like teenagers. I’m definitely intrigued to see where the story goes from here, and hope I’m able to get a stronger sense of Asahi herself. (I did like the part where she buried a fish, though.) – Michelle Smith