Barakamon, Vol. 10 | By Satsuki Yoshino | Yen Press – This is without a doubt the best volume of Barakamon to date, coming full circle to show off what began the title: Handa’s troubled relationship with his father, and his inability to stop overthinking his calligraphy. He can’t avoid the topic this time, though, as his parents are in town to visit, and we begin to see that Handa’s father is not the heartless strict man that previous chapters may have made him out to be. It all culminates in a father/son battle at Naru’s school, showing off how good his father REALLY is, but also that when Handa isn’t trying, he can have moments of genius that make his father realize that he has a true rival on his hands. A brilliant volume, and I didn’t even get to Kirie, a trans character who’s very well-handled. – Sean Gaffney
Horimiya, Vol. 3 | By Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara | Yen Press – Being best friends can be very comforting, whereas being in love can be terrifying. So it’s no surprise that much of this third volume of Horimiya sees Hori and Miyamura desperately trying to avoid their relationship changing, even if it means simply sticking their fingers in their ears and going la la la. In the meantime, we meet a couple of new cast members, one of whom seems to have a thing for Ishikawa, in case you wondered if we weren’t going to have more love triangles. It’s all relaxed and heartwarming rather than angsty or wacky, though, and so it just feels good to read. I especially liked the simple presence that Miyamura gives Hori when she’s sick, possibly the sweetest moment in a sweet volume. – Sean Gaffney
Maid-sama!, Vols. 7-8 | By Hiro Fujiwara | Viz Media – This was better than the previous volume, I will grant you. Admittedly, I found both side-stories fairly tedious, even if it gave us a chance to see Misaki as a delinquent. Misaki still spends most of the volume flushing in embarrassment, but is beginning to admit her feelings, even if it’s like pulling teeth. Usui’s perfection may be put to the test soon, as we see his jealousy and longing observing the wacky-yet-loving antics of Misaki’s family. (We also meet her younger sister, one of my favorite characters.) And we get set up for what I suspect will be the next major plot arc, the student council elections. Will Misaki get re-elected, or will the guys manage to get their Dark Horse in? Also, we’re now caught up with Tokyopop. – Sean Gaffney
Maid-sama!, Vols. 7-8 | By Hiro Fujiawara | VIZ Media – As I’ve been rereading Maid-sama! in VIZ’s new editions, I’ve had cause to wonder why I’d been so eager for a license rescue of this series. Now, at last, I remember. After several volumes of harassment, bickering, and episodic filler, Misaki and Usui are finally honest with each other about their feelings. Although I could argue that the smooch they share to the accompaniment of fireworks is somewhat cliché, this welcome development still makes me interested to find out how much the series might improve going forward. I do hope, however, that we’re not expected to take dull-as-dishwater Hinata seriously as a romantic rival, though I do sadistically enjoy it when Usui torments him. Aoi can also feel free to fall off the face of the Earth. – Michelle Smith
Missions of Love, Vol. 12 | By Ema Toyama | Kodansha Comics – Well, there was no way that Hisame was going to be able to keep up being irredeemably evil for the rest of the series, particularly given that the rest of the cast aren’t exactly wonderful people. And so over the course of this volume it becomes apparently that he’s really just a petulant child who enjoys breaking his toys and hates it when they’re taken away from him. Mami is his old favorite, and the idea that she might actually be falling for Akira infuriates him. And his new toy, Yukina, is having trouble coping herself, especially with Shigure MIA for most of the book. Her novel is being affected by the fact that true love is not running at all smoothly. Still 100% trash, and 100% addictive. – Sean Gaffney
Nichijou, Vol. 2 | By Keiichi Arawi | Vertical Comics – The ensemble is an important part of Nichijou, and we get to see more of them here, including Nakanojou’s non-mohawk personality traits, the amusing (and possibly romantic) antics of the Go/Soccer Club, and Misato becoming such a tsundere that aliens literally suck her up into the sky out of embarrassment. At its heart, though, the series knows that it stars Yuuko, whose puns are too lame to react to, whose tsukkomi reactions are simply unstoppable (though at least in the end she manages to get Mai to show something other than her poker face), and whose daydreams involve time cubes destroying the world (possibly as they have more or less than four). Nichijou remains strange and wonderful. – Sean Gaffney
What Did You Eat Yesterday?, Vol. 10 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | Vertical, Inc. – I just want to sigh contentedly after finishing a volume of this much-beloved series. Not only does so much of the food look delicious—things that made me salivate this volume include croquettes and pancakes!—but I genuinely adore Shiro and Kenji, and find myself identifying with them a lot, especially in relation to their aging woes. Parents having surgery, middle-aged partners who lament the loss of their youthful physique… definitely some universal rites of passage. No, there’s no big drama here, unless you count a new hairstyle for one of the protagonists or future career prospects for Shiro, but it’s so all so comforting and lovely that I am not complaining one little bit. My love for What Did You Eat Yesterday? knows no bounds! – Michelle Smith