Arpeggio of Blue Steel, Vol. 13 | By Ark Performance | Seven Seas – Well, that escalated quickly. The end of this volume notes that this is the end of “Chapter One” of this series, and it’s certainly taking things in a different direction. It helps when you write out the main character, to be fair: Gunzou isn’t quite killed, but it seems pretty clear that he’s at least being written off the stage for a while. In his place we have Iona, who is forced to abandon him in order to save everyone else. And so now the entire cast seems to be shifting over to… I can’t believe I’m writing this… a school series, complete with cute school uniforms. It actually seems to be a Naval Academy, but I dunno. Are we really exchanging epic naval battles for this? I’m not really sure where this is going from here. – Sean Gaffney
In/Spectre, Vol. 8 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Comics – This is a second volume of short stories for this series, though it’s implied we’ll get a longer arc next time. The first story takes up most of it, and serves up a nice balance of mystery and horror, which is what we’ve come to expect from In/Spectre. Well, that and Kotoko going on and on about getting into Kuro’s pants. This time instead of the third wheel being Kuro’s ex-girlfriend, it’s a Cool Old Lady (TM),who helps the two of them deal with a wooden doll that is killing all the fish at a local seaport. The second story is lighter in tone, being about a tofu yokai who’s trying to get Kotoko to praise his tofu—this was actually interesting more for the discussion of taste than any mystery. Still enjoying this. Sean Gaffney
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 31 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | VIZ Media – Aladdin and Alibaba haven’t had their reunion yet, but the day is drawing near. First, though, Aladdin must evade the clutches of Gyokuen, who isn’t dead and who is working along with Sinbad to try to take control of the world. Sinbad has convinced himself that only he can see the flow of fate and create a peaceful world, which of course Aladdin disagrees with. Meanwhile, Alibaba is hustling on behalf of the Kou Empire, making headway in their new business ventures before being torpedoed by Sinbad and coming back even stronger. It was hinted pretty heavily along the way that Sinbad would turn out to be the big bad of the series, and we’re starting to see that play out, even though neither Aladdin nor Alibaba thinks he’s a wholly terrible person. Six volumes left in this impressive shounen series! – Michelle Smith
Species Domain, Vol. 5 | By Shunsuke Noro | Seven Seas – I’m wondering if the series is wrapping up soon, as we get a lot more emphasis on who is going to pair up with whom in this volume. The most interesting, even if it goes nowhere for the moment, is Hanei and Mikasagi, which ends up being a very shonen sort of relationship—I love him and can admit it to myself, but want to wait till he knows he loves me too. As for Dowa and Tanaka, they may be insisting they aren’t a couple but Dowa’s family and the narrative is sure treating them as one, jokes about Tanaka dying aside. Still, the closest relationship may be between Kazamori and Ohki—sadly, this time around it’s the girl who’s oblivious. This is still an excellent “monster girl” series that’s not perverse and deft with the comedy. – Sean Gaffney
A Strange & Mystifying Story, Vol. 4 | By Tsuta Suzuki | SuBLime – A year has passed since Master Kurayori agreed to accept Tsumugi as his bride. In this time, Tsumugi has fallen in love with Kurayori, and his teenaged boy hormones lead him to plant a kiss on Kurayori when the latter doesn’t seem to understand his feelings, though at least Tsumugi is immediately mortified about what he did. In some ways, despite the fact that one of these characters is a supernatural being who was a sixty-year-old human spellcaster before becoming said supernatural being, this is basically your standard burgeoning romance boys’ love story. It’s got a pleasant atmosphere, and I enjoyed seeing a favorite couple from the previous volume. Perhaps the best part, though, was a very brief appearance by a mysterious couple in a bookstore. Could there be a darker subplot on the horizon? – Michelle Smith
That Blue Sky Feeling, Vol. 1 | By Okura and Coma Hashii | Viz Media – Very few manga by openly gay creators have made their way into English translation. Most recently is That Blue Sky Feeling, an ongoing manga series illustrated by Coma Hashii based on a webcomic by Okura. Outgoing, earnest, and kindhearted by nature, high school transfer student Noshiro can’t stand by when he notices that his classmate Sanada generally keeps to himself and that most of the other students avoid him. The reason for that is a rumor going around that Sanada is gay–a rumor that turns out to be true. The characterization and personal development of both Sanada and Noshiro are highlights of That Blue Sky Feeling. There are some discomforting elements as well (such as the age difference between Sanada and his ex-boyfriend, who essentially becomes the manga’s adult role model), but overall it’s a sweet, thoughtful, and charming if somewhat subdued series about friendship and first love. – Ash Brown
UQ Holder, Vol. 14 | By Ken Akamatsu | Kodansha Comics – A lot of UQ Holder is about history repeating itself from Negima, and so therefore it comes as no surprise that the Nodoka-alike gets shoved aside for Kuromaru, Setsuna’s expy, and then Kuromaru gets set aside for Kirie, who looks and acts like the loli-Chisame from the first series. Well, that’s not quite true—Chisame was never quite this over-the-top in terms of trying to deny her feelings. Kirie has to deal with being stuck in a body that’s too young for her mental state, as well as, well, being a massive tsundere. It is Ken Akamatsu after all. The first half of this series works better, because Ken has always been better at action than he has been at harem antics. But when will the series start using its new Japanese subtitle: Negima 2? – Sean Gaffney
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 13 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical, Inc. – There’s hardly any drama in this volume, and what there is is decidedly adjacent to Shiro and Kenji. The boss of Kenji’s salon is oblivious to the fact that his wife is planning to divorce him, Shiro’s college classmate dies and he realizes that he’s old enough to have grandchildren, etc. Even seeing Mr. Kohinata again after he made a pass at Shiro goes smoothly. As ever, the best part here is the tasty food. Shiro seems to be getting a little more adventurous, incorporating more international dishes and modern ingredients into his cooking, while also making traditional hot pot and spring rolls, the latter of which look exceedingly tasty. This series will always be an immediate read for me whenever a new volume comes out. – Michelle Smith