Anonymous Noise, Vol. 6 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | VIZ Media – On the heels of the electrifying performance in volume five, volume six was likely destined to be somewhat of a disappointment. The story jumps ahead three months. Momo has been gone the whole time—for completely unclear reasons he insists he can’t stay and be together with Nino—and Nino has been in a singing slump. Meanwhile, Yuzu has made some mysterious promise to his mother and has been composing like a fiend, although nothing he’s written is very good. This volume is, essentially, about everyone finding the desire to move forward, be it Nino learning that her voice did reach Momo before he left, or Yuzu realizing Momo’s songs are currently better than his, or Haruyoshi convincing Miou to go out with him. I suppose it’s good that I care a little more about the band members now, but that central love triangle is never going to captivate me. – Michelle Smith
Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 5 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – The beginning of this volume is excruciatingly cringe-inducing, as Shimana (teen girl) attempts to induce Fujiwara (grown man) to fall in love with her by dramatically proclaiming her love in a crowded auditorium at her school’s Founder’s Day Festival. It was so bad I actively wanted him to reject her, but he bafflingly agrees to consider it. It seems like he’ll say no, but then one of the teachers, with whom he obviously has a history, shows up and suddenly he declares that he likes Shimana and is going to date her. Later, he clarifies that he doesn’t like her the same way she likes him, but that he’s determined to fall for her. Um, why her? Why not the perfectly nice age-appropriate lady who likes you?! The creepy teacher keeps popping up and it turns out she has a kid… who looks to me like Fujiwara! Dun dun dun. – Michelle Smith
Dreamin’ Sun, Vol. 5 | By Ichigo Takano | Seven Seas – I was impressed that this volume went in a few ways that I wasn’t expecting it to. After Shimana’s public confession, which made me cringe because I HATE THOSE, I was expecting a rejection, as the landlord clearly is not that into her. But he agrees to date her, which made me wonder if this was going to get a lot more angsty than I was expecting. Then, much to my surprise, we get an awesome conversation where he admits he doesn’t love her but wants to—he wants her to make him fall for him. That’s rather sweet, but could also go SO BADLY. Given we’re at the halfway point of the series, I’m expecting things may get worse before they get better. Also wow, did Zen get written out entirely? Poor Zen! – Sean Gaffney
Imperfect Girl, Vol. 2 | By NISIOISIN and Mitsuru Hattori | Vertical Comics – The story makes no bones about the sheer brokenness of both main characters, and much as “U” is clearly the more broken of the two, I like that it doesn’t skimp on showing us just how screwed up our narrator is. The “looking back at my past” narration helps there as well, though the best chapter in this volume may be the one that shows us the girl’s day at school. (I was expecting her to be bullied, but no.) That said, the preview worries me, and I really hope that this series stays away from any disquieting relationships. I think it will, though, if only as there’s only one volume left. I series that runs almost entirely on pure mood, but that’s not really a bad thing. – Sean Gaffney
Natsume’s Book of Friends, Vol. 21 | By Yuki Midorikawa | VIZ Media – I hope I always feel this delighted to read a new volume of Natsume’s Book of Friends. There are some truly charming stories this time. First, Natsume helps a lowly minion wake his master when others (including Nyanko-sensei) would like to thwart him and receive the reward themselves. Next, he helps the yokai protector of a bookstore defeat an evil spirit, and there’s a few nice moments between the yokai and Natsume’s friend, Kitamoto. But my very, very, very favorite story involves a miniature clay figurine of Nyanko-sensei and the noble spirit who inhabits it. There’s something so adorable and touching about watching this dinky little kitty making sure he’s taken care of the evil spirits near the shrine where he used to live before finally moving on, paddling along a stream in his little wooden bowl. I couldn’t possibly love it more. – Michelle Smith
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legend of the Piko Piko Middle School Students, Vol. 2 | By Yushi Kawata, Yukito and khara | Dark Horse Comics – It has always seemed to me that Evangelion has had more “gag comic” spinoffs than most series, and with Piko Piko they seem to have hit on a real winner. While it’s hard to top the amazing front cover, I found myself laughing hard at multiple times while reading this, which is all you want out of a humor title. The cast are exaggerated to extremes, but still feel in character, oddly enough. There are a lot of hysterical visuals, such as the sushi belt, but the dialogue takes the cake—Carl Horn’s adaptation is absolutely the best reason to buy this, and adds so much to what’s already pretty funny. Honestly, this may be the most enjoyable Evangelion that’s not the original manga. – Sean Gaffney
Pandora in the Crimson Shell: Ghost Urn, Vol. 9 | By Shirow Masamune and Rikudou Koushi | Seven Seas – The most interesting part of this volume of Pandora may come in the author’s notes, where Rikudou admits he’s not drawing the manga anymore, but has farmed it out to Hitotose Rin due to health issues. He’s still doing the story (thus presumably confirming that Shirow’s no longer even remotely involved), but there’s no change in the artist credit either, no doubt due to Japanese manga rules. As for the volume itself, it was fairly light and fluffy for a Pandora volume, and the sequence with the runner who had prosthetics verged on being interesting. Still, I found myself getting bored faster than usual, making me wonder if this is finally the time to drop it. – Sean Gaffney