Again!!, Vol. 4 | By Mitsurou Kubo | Kodansha Comics – Just as the ouendan members are beginning to communicate and share ideas for how to set their cheering apart, Imamura falls down the flight of stairs again and finds himself back where he started, temporally speaking. What follows is a neat split timeline, with Imamura in 2014 trying to figure out whether what he experienced was real or a dream, and Fujieda in 2011 watching everyone gradually forget Imamura and his influence in their lives. It’s still not 100% conclusive that it is real, or whether Imamura’s actions will in any way affect the present, but he’s still determined to try. Armed with knowledge of how Usami ends up causing a disaster and dropping out of school, an accidental plummet from a window sends him back again. This was an exciting volume, and a big improvement over the previous one. – Michelle Smith
Arakawa Under the Bridge, Vol. 4 | By Hikaru Nakamura | Vertical Comics – As always, I’m grasping at straws to avoid having every review be simply “this series is really weird but pretty funny,” and this time around it’s noticing that despite living under the bridge mostly involving Rec playing the straight man, it’s actually pretty much been a good thing for him, both in terms of his physical and mental health. Rec was the sort of person who was headed for an early nervous breakdown, and while one can argue that he has about ten of these in this omnibus alone, he’s also maturing in a weird way by being immature. He’s also a good fit with Nino, who gets a rival in a huge Amazon this time around but is otherwise power-faced. Best read in bits, but still great fun. – Sean Gaffney
Chio’s School Road, Vol. 1 | By Tadataka Kawasaki | Yen Press – Although Chio is a high school student who would rather not draw too much attention to herself, somehow the complete opposite always seems to happen. She can’t even make it to school on time without something astonishingly absurd happening first–thus the title and premise of the series. Chio’s School Road can be incredibly funny. The titular heroine repeatedly finds herself in over-the-top situations which she unintentionally makes even more outrageous due to a potent mix of exceptionally creative problem solving, a nearly complete lack of common sense, and an obsessive love of video games. While not as overly-sexualized or fanservice-laden as it could be, Kawasaki’s background as a hentai artist is readily apparent in Chio’s School Road, mostly in how characters’ facial expressions are portrayed during times of intense physical exertion. Some of the humor is a bit lewd or risqué as well, but some elements are more innocent. – Ash Brown
D-Frag!, Vol. 12 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – It’s been almost a year and a half since the last volume of D-Frag!, and I’ve honestly forgotten half the cast. But that’s fine, as the reader will quickly get back into the spirit of things, as the premise remains the same—gags happen, and they are funny. Much of the volume involves the main cast going to a festival held at the Girls’ Private Academy they’ve occasionally battled, and no prizes for guessing that they have to play games there. And there’s also many, many jokes about Takao’s breasts, which remain nearly invincible (in fact, the fact that they can come to harm is a gag all to itself.) D-Frag! is never going to have a serious plotline or any character development, but it’s dumb fun. – Sean Gaffney
My Monster Secret, Vol. 12 | By Eiji Masuda | Seven Seas – First off, I get the feeling that the manga really is going to go for the teacher/student relationship with Akari and Sakurada, and I’m not sure how I feel about it, though it would at least stop the old maid jokes. The best part of this volume, though, is Youko and Asahi’s first date, which is absolutely adorable despite a bit of ominous foreshadowing near the end, which seems to imply that Youko’s vampire tendencies may actually be tied to her lust for her boyfriend. We also start a new year, and thus have new freshman, including Asahi’s sister, who I’d forgotten existed, and Momochi, an over-the-top ninja who seems to fall in love at the drop of a hat. Dragging on a bit, but still good. – Sean Gaffney
Yowamushi Pedal, Vol. 9 | By Wataru Watanabe | Yen Press – Day two of the inter-high continues! The teams from Hakone and Sohoku make their triumphant return to the head of the pack, much to the consternation of a hothead on the Kyoto-Fushimi team. Midousuji insists all is within the scope of his simulations, however, and employs various tactics to ensure his victory. It’s initially satisfying watching Midousuji be thrown off by just how strong Fukutomi and Kinjou really are—I was particularly amused when he called them “sewer gnats!!”—but once he gets a tragic backstory, I felt a little less gleeful about it. Fukutomi and Kinjou have a very healthy rivalry born of mutual respect that leads to greater heights, whereas Midousuji has nothing like that. Watanabe-sensei, I can’t believe you made me feel bad for Midousuji. Well done! – Michelle Smith