D-Frag!, Vol. 16 | By Tomoya Haruno | Seven Seas – This new volume (by now the series is annual) involves a massive parody of “trapped in a game” stories, as the main cast are all in an experimental VRMMO which has a few bugs in the system. Kazuma’s in-game cursed armor may be affected by a REAL curse on him, Runa’s attempt to imitate Lone Wolf and Cub has left her as a baby, and Sakura can only use water spells, because, well, she’s Sakura. There are some very funny stabs at both Sword Art Online and similar stories as well as the D-Frag cast itself, with Kazuma once again having to rely on his tsukkomi in order to survive. That said, it ended with a surprise heartwarming moment… with Kazuma being the most surprised! Still underrated. – Sean Gaffney
Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, Vol. 11 | By Inio Asano | Viz Media – The End of Humanity has been promised for several volumes now, and this volume is here to deliver on it. We get some really terrifying horror shots here of innocent folks suddenly having their arms and legs cut off by alien spores, but that pales next to the actual apocalypse, which takes up more than one two-page spread. We even get what appears to be the final Isobeyan chapter, giving it an ending that the original Doraemon never actually got. That said, the last volume in the series is twelve, not eleven, and I suspect some sort of time travel/alternate universe stuff may manage to save the day. For now, though, hope you aren’t attached to anyone on Earth. – Sean Gaffney
Dekoboko Bittersweet Days | By Atsuko Yusen | TOKYOPOP – In this sequel to Dekoboko Sugar Days, things start somewhat episodically. Rui and Yuujirou move up to their third year in high school, they go to the beach, there’s a flashback to them as kids, etc. Eventually, however, the references to their college plans and worries about how their families might react to their relationship coalesce into a fairly dramatic story. Now, was it really that believable that Yuujirou would break up with Rui on Christmas and not talk to him again until right before Rui is about to get on a plane to attend college in France? No, not really. Not when they love each other so much. But their last-minute reconciliation is still great because they were utterly unconcerned in that moment about their families finding out and, surprise, everything was totally fine. Sometimes an ending can be predictable and still be sweet and satisfying. – Michelle Smith
Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 11 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – This came out a lot faster than I was expecting, but that may be because things are very quickly coming to a climax, and the end plot may be less “how do we save Falin?” and more “how do we not all get executed as criminals?” Marcille won’t be helping, as due to plot and circumstance she’s now in charge of the dungeon, though we only get a brief glimpse of what that actually entails. And rest assured, there is some incredibly disgusting horror here as well, because that is also the sort of thing this series can offer us. Actually, there’s not as much food this time around—or at least not food that we can convert to real recipes. I’m not sure how much longer this has to go, but it will be interesting to see how Laios talks himself out of this one. – Sean Gaffney
Ramen Wolf and Curry Tiger, Vol. 1 | By Emboss | Seven Seas – At first glance, Ramen Wolf and Curry Tiger looks like a standard-issue food manga, focusing on two friends whose main hobby is trying out new restaurants. The artwork reinforces the idea that this is a Food Manga™ with numerous close-ups of Wolf and Tiger slurping noodles, sighing contentedly, and rubbing their bellies as they sample new delicacies, all of which are rendered in meticulous, mouth-watering detail. The frenetic pacing, however, robs the story of its educational and entertainment potential; at every turn, we’re bombarded with new characters, few of whom are properly introduced to the reader, despite the presence of a narrator. By the end of volume one I felt tired and hangry—a sure sign that this series wasn’t working for me. YMMV. – Katherine Dacey
Sakamoto Days, Vol. 2 | By Yuto Suzuki | VIZ Media – The second installment of Sakamoto Days does pretty much what you’d expect: we’re introduced to new assassins—none of whom are equal to the task of killing the hero—and a conspiracy involving a top-secret organization. We’re also treated to a few amusing flashbacks to Sakamoto’s training, as well as an acrobatic fight scene that begins on a roller coaster and ends at a haunted house. Though the action scenes aren’t as dazzling as the best Shonen Jumpka titles, Yuto Suzuki knows his way around a good sight gag, and peppers every fight sequence with a few humorous interludes. What really keeps Sakamoto Days aloft, however, is heart: the characters’ obvious affection for one another makes it easier to embrace the story’s killer-gets-dragged-back-into-his-old-life plot. Recommended. – Katherine Dacey
See You Tomorrow at the Food Court | By Shinichiro Nariie| Yen Press – This is a dialogue-heavy story that relies entirely on the personalities of the two high school girl leads. Yamamoto dresses like a gal, but is relatively serious and has a job. Wada looks like an honor student, but is a flake who is all over the place. They’re best friends, and every day they eat at the food court in the mall and discuss… whatever. This was marketed as yuri-ish, but aside from the final chapter it’s not really. It is a good examination of high school girls and the need to have a “public” face. How much you like it depends on how much you can tolerate Wada, who can be very hard to take a lot of the time, though I think she’s ultimately lovable. A one-shot for now, it just restarted in Japan. – Sean Gaffney
Sword Art Online: Girls’ Ops, Vol. 8 | By Neko Nekobyou and Reki Kawahara | Yen Press – This is the final volume of the series, and like previous volumes, it focuses on its main character—Lux. She’s had the emotional arc since the very start of the series, and now she gets to come to terms with the death of her friend, come to terms with the fact that she was a pawn of Laughing Coffin, and come to terms with the hero-worship she has for Kirito, even when he’s an NPC that may or may not contain his soul. It wouldn’t be SAO without playing fast and loose with sentience. In the meantime, this was a solid series that gave screen time to most of the regulars who are not Kirito, Asuna or Sinon, and I’m happy to have read it. – Sean Gaffney
In an essay for The Nation, author Viken Berberian explains 
Attention manga shoppers! 
