Battle Angel Alita: Deluxe Edition, Vol. 3 | By Yukito Kishiro | Kodansha Comics – Alita has been many things since she was rescued from a scrap pile–a formidable bounty hunter, a talented motorball player, and now (of all things) a beloved bar singer and musician–but her destiny hasn’t finished playing out yet. Zapan, another cyborg and ex-bounty hunter who unfairly blames Alita for everything that has recently gone wrong in his life, is coming after her to seek revenge. He cares very little about anyone or anything else, resulting in massive casualties and destruction. As I’ve come to expect from the series, the numerous battles in this volume are intense and well-executed in addition to being incredibly gruesome. Kishiro also has a knack for creative and marvelously disconcerting cyberpunk designs. But what really makes the series work is Alita herself and the strength and depth of her character. While her circumstances are rarely very happy ones, she continues to persevere. – Ash Brown
Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Vol. 5 | By Rin Mikimoto | Kodansha Comics – Last time I said that a lot of this was shoujo by numbers, and it still is to a degree, but you can feel the author fighting back against the obvious a bit. Shu spends much of the volume trying not to be the evil girl who gets between our hero and heroine, before seemingly just saying “screw it” and doing so for a good cliffhanger. That said, I continue to like the way the book is handling Kaede, who really is making an effort here in a way that most shoujo hotties, especially ones who are famous stars, wouldn’t do. It makes the butt stuff more tolerable. (It helps that both Hinana and Shu are also “pervy” to a large degree.) Add in more funny SD-faces, and it’s a pretty decent volume. – Sean Gaffney
Shojo FIGHT!, Vol. 3 | By Yoko Nihonbashi | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – I was very happy to see this volume on Kodansha’s release schedule! In it, one of Neri’s new teammates, Nao, has gotten herself involved in a “volleybetting” enterprise in which the audience gambles on matches between scantily clad girls. The Kokuyodani team rallies to extricate Nao from this situation, but all is not as sordid as it seems. Their efforts, in part, involve putting together an audience team to help win Nao’s freedom, and Neri’s teammates assure her that now is not the time to hold back, so she’s finally able to play her hardest with teammates in full support. Meanwhile, Takako Yui returns from overseas and seems to be fairly evil, though I liked that Michiru and Odagiri start dating as a result of her machinations. Looking forward to more! – Michelle Smith
Sweetness & Lightning, Vol. 10 | By Gido Amagakure | Kodansha Comics – Sweetness & Lightning continues to be eyebleach in manga form. In addition to cooking some classic Japanese dishes in this volume—udon, oden, and sukiyaki—Kotori and Tsumugi achieve a few more growing-up milestones. I appreciated that witnessing Tsumugi’s success in learning to ride a bike helped Kotori pass her interview for culinary school, and also liked how Tsumugi is picking up on things more now, like how their time cooking with Kotori might soon come to an end, or that, despite her best efforts to be friends with everyone, there are just some people she doesn’t like. My favorite moment, though, was when Kotori’s father tasted her food and affirmed, “You’re good at this.” Overall, it’s a very nice series about nice people cooking nice food and sometimes one needs that sort of story. – Michelle Smith
To Your Eternity, Vol. 4 | By Yoshitoki Oima | Kodansha Comics – One of my favorite manga series currently being released in English is To Your Eternity. Admittedly the story can be emotionally devastating and heartbreaking, but it’s also a beautiful and compelling examination of life, love, and what it means to be human. In stark contrast to the beginning of his existence, Fushi has lived the last few years in relative peace. He’s once again become an integral part of a found family, but now he’s had the advantage of time to establish even deeper bonds with people as he grows and learns. Fushi’s language skills develop alongside his self-awareness and understanding of others. However, danger and tragedy isn’t far off–Fushi will have to face his fears and make tremendously difficult decisions in order to protect those he has come to love. He’s evolving to become more human-like even while the monstrous truth behind his creation and survival is revealed. – Ash Brown
Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty, Vol. 4 | By Megumi Morino | Kodansha Comics – The cliffhanger that didn’t appear last time shows up in this volume, as Shizu’s father is back and he’s evil, alas. So it’s ‘put Shizu in an institution’ vs. having her run away with the boy who loves her, and I think we know what readers are going to go with, even in spite of the fact that this is dumb and will end badly. Before that, though, we pretty much get compressed adorable, as Tetsu and Shizu buy kimonos, attend a festival, and otherwise prove that she is indeed fully capable of interacting with the outside world provided she isn’t being constantly possessed. Sadly, I doubt Dear Old Dad will see it that way, and I expect the next volume to be rather dark. Still getting this anyway. – Sean Gaffney
Waiting for Spring, Vol. 6 | By Anashin | Kodansha Comics – There’s not a whole lot that happens in this volume plot-wise. Mitsuki challenges herself by serving on the cultural festival committee and does a very good job. Meanwhile, Aya-chan arranges for his team to have a practice game against our heroes, whereupon he and Asakura get into each other’s faces a bit. Mostly, though, this volume is about feelings. Asakura freely admits to his friends that he loves Mitsuki, which causes some strife with Rui, who was maybe starting to have feelings for her and has long had an inferiority complex where Asakura is concerned. Although I really don’t care about the Aya-chan stuff—or Rui, for that matter—I really like Mitsuki and Asakura and enjoy spending time with them as they work to better themselves and get to a place where they feel worthy of love. They’re a core couple worth rooting for. – Michelle Smith