Frau Faust, Vol. 3 | By Kore Yamazaki | Kodansha Comics – I see we’re doubling down on the “religion of EVIL” here, even if the priest is seen to regret what he’s done. It’s no surprise that a series called Frau Faust would have a plot revolving around… well, Faustian bargains, and as we see here, it doesn’t end well. That said, we do meet some new cast members, who show that some people are a little better than others when it comes to resisting the call of the demon. I like Sarah, and hope bad things don’t happen to her. Certainly I have more hope for her than I do for Johanna. The series is still just finding its feet, but I’m greatly enjoying each volume, and I recommend it especially for fans of The Ancient Magus’ Bride. – Sean Gaffney
Frau Faust, Vol. 3 | By Kore Yamazaki | Kodansha Comics – I love that Johanna deals with the priest’s daughter-turned-monster with both compassion and certainty and, I might add, not before assigning Marion the task of discreetly making off with Mephisto’s leg while Lorenzo is distracted. We see more of the priest’s fate than I expected and got some ominous hints about what the church is up to. Then it’s off to the town where Johanna went to university. Her former roommate Sarah is a great character! At first it just seems she’s there to mend Nico, but then you realize that she’s got a fascinating backstory of her own, and fills Marion in on Johanna’s college years. This series is seriously so well crafted. I am already bummed there are only two more volumes. – Michelle Smith
Golden Time, Vol. 9 | By Yuyuko Takemiya and Umechazuke | Seven Seas – This feels like it wrapped up far too fast, though I’m pretty sure the novels were about the same. I think it needed an extra chapter of “epilogue,” especially after all the horrible emotional trauma going on here. Banri’s issues with amnesia are not just wacky amnesia that you see in other manga, he’s dealing with two different sets of memories and selves, and the one we’ve come to know and love is on the losing end. It’s no surprise that Kouko can’t take it and tries to pull back to where SHE began the series. It all ends OK, though, and I’m happy I read the manga—but I suspect this series is one I’d enjoy more as a light novel. Maybe if Toradora! sells well… – Sean Gaffney
My Boyfriend in Orange, Vol. 2 | By Non Tamashima | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Shoujo manga has its share of series in which the heroine repeatedly requires rescue, but the first volume of My Boyfriend in Orange made it seem as if such rescues were the whole point, and it was quite tiresome indeed. This second volume is a little better, though that might be damning it with faint praise. Moe Sasaki has recently lost her father, and so she’s drawn to handsome firefighter Kyosuke Ebihara because he makes her feel safe. This is the kind of story where, when Moe’s little brother suddenly goes missing at a cookout, there’s absolutely no suspense because it’s a foregone conclusion that Ebihara will save the day (and that Moe will do something dumb like fall in a river). Likewise, the male classmate we meet is going to have feelings for her. The result isn’t horrible, just exceedingly bland. – Michelle Smith
My Neighbor Seki, Vol. 10 | By Takuma Morishige | Vertical Comics – Bad news for Seki fans, as the series is going on hiatus after this volume—not only here, but in Japan as well, as the author admits he’s taking a break as it’s hard to think up new things for Seki to do that are unique and fun. You do sort of see his point, as when the purpose of your series is seeing which Rube Goldberg device Seki has come up with today, there’s a desire to keep topping yourself. My favorites were Seki testing video games, the school cultural festival, and Seki’s cardboard fort being so hard to figure out Yokoi gets stuck under his desk trying to do so. Yokoi may not think of Seki as a friend, as the epilogue shows us, but everyone else can see what’s really going on between them. – Sean Gaffney
SP Baby, Vol. 2 | By Maki Enjoji | VIZ Media – SP Baby (the SP stands for “security police”) is a two-volume josei series from the creator of Happy Marriage?! and, I must admit, it’s pretty ridiculous. Tamaki Hasegawa has been hired as a bodyguard to Kagetora Sugou (the prime minister’s handsome nephew) and is trying to adhere to a professional working relationship, but he keeps dressing her in skimpy miniskirts and kissing her (while he is engaged to someone else). But we’re supposed to root for them because she has past trauma about being unable to save her little sister from drowning, whereas Kagetora is someone she has been able to save . It’s all very flimsy and the resolution is swift, complete with a “Tamaki takes out armed attackers with the power of kicks” finale. Sometimes, a brief, light story like this might hit the spot, but I just wasn’t feeling it this time. – Michelle Smith
To-Love-Ru, Vols. 3-4 | By Saki Hasemi and Kentaro Yabuki | Seven Seas – To-Love-Ru is a series for teenage boys that ran in Weekly Shonen Jump (at least at this point), and it certainly knows exactly what teenage boys want—if you took all the fanservice in Nisekoi, you might get about two pages of the fanservice in To-Love-Ru. In some ways I feel that the fanservice *is* the plot. As for the supposed actual plot, again I feel that the authors wanted to rewrite Urusei Yatsura but couldn’t get permission from Rumiko Takahashi. Nothing here is necessarily terrible, and the main cast is nice enough, but again every single beat of this is terribly predictable, except perhaps that Lala and Haruna really like each other. If you’ve never read a single harem series, To-Love-Ru is for you. – Sean Gaffney