Michelle Smith

SEAN: The end of September drifts into the start of October, which means it’s SPOOKY TIME.

MICHELLE: THE BEST TIME!

ANNA: Here for it!

ASH: Woohoo!

SEAN: We start with Yen On, which gives us Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf 9 and You Can Have My Back 3 (the final volume).

And Yen Press has Combatants Will Be Dispatched! 10, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School! 15, Triage X 27, Uncle from Another World 10, and Yowamushi Pedal 26.

ANNA: Yowamushi Pedal is a favorite in my house.

ASH: I am so far behind, but I’ve been enjoying it.

SEAN: The debut for Viz Media is Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite (Oshi ni Amagami), a shoujo title from Hana to Yume, and from the creator of Kamisama Kiss. A vampire girl is a massive otaku, and has come to Japan to fuel her habits. Then she finds her next door neighbor looks just like her anime crush!

MICHELLE: I was just thinking fondly of Kamisama Kiss the other day. I’ll definitely be checking this out.

ANNA: OOOH, me too!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Blade of the Moon Princess 5 (the final volume), Blue Box 12, Kaiju No. 8 11, Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate 3 (the final volume), Marriage Toxin 4, Moriarty the Patriot 17, My Hero Academia 39, Rainbow Days 12, Tamon’s B-Side 5, and Vampire Knight: Memories 9.

MICHELLE: I am so in the mood for more Tamon’s B-Side. And I may be in the minority, but I’ve been enjoying Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate, as well.

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has a biography. Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz The Creator of Snoopy and Peanuts (Kadokawa Manga Gakushuu Series: Manga Jinbutsu-den Charles Schulz Snoopy no Umi no Oya). The biography series has, in the past, done Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, Florence Nightingale, etc. None of those came out over here, but Sparky is different, and this is his (manga) life!

ASH: Interesting!

SEAN: Steamship has a 5th volume of GAME: Between the Suits and a 6th volume of Outbride: Beauty and the Beasts.

Square Enix gives us The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! 10 and Victoria’s Electric Coffin 3 (the final volume).

Seven Seas debuts Magical Buffs: The Support Caster is Stronger Than He Realized! (Zatsuyou Fuyojutsushi ga Jibun no Saikyou ni Kidzuku made), a manga based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, that runs in Futabasha’s Gaugau Monster. Let’s face it, you can guess the plot of this one.

ASH: That’s probably true.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Does it Count if You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? 4, Dungeon Friends Forever 3, Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 8, The Great Snake’s Bride 4, I Get the Feeling That Nobukuni-san Likes Me 4, Imaginary 2, The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru 8, Magic Artisan Dahlia Wilts No More 6, Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 8, My [Repair] Skill Became a Versatile Cheat, So I Think I’ll Open a Weapon Shop 5, My Wife Has No Emotion 7, Time Stop Hero 10, and The Valiant Must Fall 3.

ASH: I really should catch up with The Legend of Dororo and Hyakkimaru.

Kodansha Manga has one print debut. Mobile Suit Gundam Cucuruz Doan’s Island (Kidou Senshi Gundam The Origin – Cucuruz Doan no Shima) ran in Gundam Ace, and is an examination of the Cucuruz Doan’s Island events from the Zeon Soldier perspective.

Also in print: Bless 3, A Condition Called Love 10, and WIND BREAKER 8.

Digitally, we see Chihayafuru 46, Life 19, That Beauty Is a Tramp 3, and Those Snow White Notes 21.

MICHELLE: Just a few volumes left of Chihayafuru!

ANNA: I can’t believe it.

SEAN: I’ve been saying that Yen Press took over J-NC’s print release distribution, but that’s not quite true. Hachette, Yen’s parent company, took over distribution. So I’ll put them back with the other JNC titles. We get a print release for Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 4 (the manga version).

ASH: Ooooooh, okay. That makes sense.

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: the 4th D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared manga volume, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 5, and An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me! 8.

From Hanashi Media we see Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy 3.

No Ghost Ship next week, but we get a mature Seven Seas title. KinnPorsche is a Thai novel that inspired a live-action series, and, as you likely guessed, it’s BL. A college student gets caught up with a crime family.

MICHELLE: Intriguing!

ASH: A Thai novel! That’s not something you see everyday.

SEAN: From Denpa Books we see Under Ninja 4.

Cross Infinite World’s debut, Ayakashi and the Fairy Tales We Tell Ourselves, is another book from the pen of Kosuzu Kobato, author of Making Jam in the Woods, Apothecary Witch Turned Divorce Agent, etc. Our heroine meets a young man who can see ayakashi.

ASH: I like the sound of the title, at least.

SEAN: Also from CIW: The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 6, The Dragon’s Soulmate is a Mushroom Princess! 4, and Fluffy Paradise 5.

In print, for Airship, we see the debut of I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince (Higeki no Heroine Buru Imouto no Sei de Konyaku Hakishita no desu ga, Naze ka Seigikan no Tsuyoi Outaishi ni Karamareru you ni narimashita). A saint is rather stunned when her little sister says she’s being bullied by her sister, and even more stunned when this means her fiance breaks off the engagement to her. And now the Crown Prince is investigating her? Isn’t this all about her sister being a spoiled brat!?!

Also in print: I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner 3 (the final volume) and A Tale of the Secret Saint 6.

The early digital debut is a one-shot light novel spinoff of the popular manga: The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You: Secret Love Story is a short story collection that hopefully is as bonkers as the main series.

Also in early digital: Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 8.

It’s fall, so the manga pages are turning colors! What are you buying?

SEAN: As September sinks slowly in the west, and our adorable children bring us all the fresh new colds they caught at school, what’s coming out?

ASH: Fresh new manga!

SEAN: Airship has the print debut of An Autumn in Amber, a Zero-Second Journey (Kohaku no Aki, 0-byō no Tabi), another book by Mei Hachimoku, Seven Seas’ resident “bittersweet sci-fi teen romance” author. Not sure if this is bittersweet, but there’s sci-fi and teens. A boy who hates being touched and a snarky delinquent girl find time has stopped for everyone but them.

ASH: I like sci-fi, bittersweet and otherwise.

And we also get print for The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 7 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: Otome Games Are Tough For Us, Too! 2. No early digital releases technically, but hold that thought, we’ve got a weird imprint crisis going on here later.

Ghost Ship features Call Girl in Another World 8.

Three debuts for J-Novel Club. Duchess in the Attic (Yane Urabeya no Koushaku Fujin) has had its manga out already, but now we have the original light novel. It is a “terrible things happen to our noble lady over and over, until she finally starts her comeback” sort of title.

No One Gets Past This Gatekeeper: The Unwanted Warrior Guards His New Post (Sono Monban, Saikyō ni Tsuki: Tsuihō Sareta Bōgyo-ryoku 9999 no Senshi, Ōto no Monban to Shite Musō Suru) is a “banished from the party” title, where the party finds that without their tank they’re toast, and our hero finds he gets far more women and money guarding a door.

ASH: Admittedly, doors can be pretty dangerous.

SEAN: And we see the manga debut of The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist (Haraiya Reijō Nicola no Komarigoto), whose light novel J-Novel Club has already released. I assume this runs in Drecomics.

Also from J-Novel Club: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Trusted Companions Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to the Gift of an Unlimited Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge on My Former Party Members and the World 8, the 17th Black Summoner manga volume, Chivalry of a Failed Knight 3, Invaders of the Rokujouma!? 45, A Late-Start Tamer’s Laid-Back Life 11, A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires 3, and Sword Saint Adel’s Second Chance 3.

Kodansha Books has the 6th volume of My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1.

Kodansha Manga has two debuts in print. The Boy I Loved Became the Jaded Emperor (Mukuchi na Koushaku Reijou to Reitetsu na Koutei – Zense Hirotta Kodomo ga Koutei ni Natte Imashita) is a josei manga from Zero-Sum Online, based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel. As a boy, the prince was rescued by a woman with the face of a monster, and they stayed together for a few years… till he was forced to be prince, and she was killed. Now he rules as a cold, emotionless man. But wait, who’s this duke’s daughter? Could she be a reincarnation?

MICHELLE: Hm.

ANNA: I don’t know if this premise really appeals to me, but I am here for most josei!

MICHELLE: Yeah, this is my dilemma too.

ASH: I’m curious enough to give it a try.

SEAN: Suzume is a manga based on a Makoto Shinkai movie that he also wrote a novelization for, which Yen On has published. A young girl finds doors connecting past, present and future. The Manga ran in Afternoon.

ASH: I wondered when we’d end up seeing this released.

SEAN: Also in print: A-DO 4, As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 12, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card 15, The Great Cleric 11, How I Met My Soulmate 4, and Nina the Starry Bride 4.

ANNA: Yay for Nina the Starry Bride!

ASH: I really need to get around to reading this series!

SEAN: Digitally we see The Beast Player 4, Because I, the True Saint, was Banished, that Country is Done For! 5, A Couple of Cuckoos 19, DAYS 43 ~fragment~ (you thought it was over?), Drops of God: Mariage 8, Gamaran: Shura 24, The Great Cleric 13, My Home Hero 18, and That Beauty Is a Tramp 2.

MICHELLE: I did, in fact, think DAYS was over!

SEAN: Debuting from One Peace Books is Nukozuke!, a shoujo title from Hana to Yume. A slice-of-life manga about a young man who finds two “nukos”, which are apparently cat-sized humans. Cute is the watchword here.

ASH: Cute can be good.

SEAN: And we also get a 5th Parallel World Pharmacy.

One debut from Seven Seas: Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl: The Complete Manga Collection (Ikemen Onna to Hakoiri Musume) is a yuri series from Comic Rex. A girl asks her classmate to help out in a crossdressing cafe. However, the classmate she assumed was a boy is a girl… and wants to date her! As you can guess, it’s complete in one omnibus.

ASH: I did guess!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: BARBARITIES IV (the final volume), Dinosaur Sanctuary 5, Lazy Dungeon Master 9, The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today 8, My Girlfriend’s Not Here Today 2, and Who Made Me a Princess 7.

They also have two danmei novels, Ballad of Sword and Wine: Qiang Jin Jiu 2 and Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang 4.

Square Enix Manga has Mobsters in Love 2 and Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 16.

Steamship has a light novel! Yes, this is where the early digital debut for Airship went, as this is the original LN version of their already released manga The Villainess and the Demon Knight (Akuyaku Reijou to Kichiku Kishi), where our villainess is exiled to a brothel, and her childhood friend turns out to be a yandere. I’ll read this for the maid.

Two debuts from Tokyopop. Boys Gilding the Lily Shall Die!? (Yuri ni Hasamaru Otoko wa Shineba Ii?!) is a yuri title from LINE Manga. Did you watch Sound Euphonium and want more gay band club? This series should be perfect for you.

Dinner for Three (which I can’t find romanji for) is a BL light novel. A guy trying to raise his kid brother is making ends meet as a male companion. Can their neightbor help out with meals?

Tokyopop also has the 5th volume of I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! and the 14th volume of Konohana Kitan.

Viz Media gives us Fist of the North Star 14 and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 6.

ASH: Here for both of these.

SEAN: And we end with some more Yen, who weren’t done last week. Yen On debuts 86–EIGHTY-SIX Alter, a short story volume containing tales that are not quite as depressing as he main series.

The other debut is Victoria of Many Faces (Tefuda ga Oume no Victoria). A spy who is a master of disguise is betrayed by her organization, and so she starts over again in a small town. But not only are her spy talents useful there, her old life is catching up. This is from the creator of Soup Forest and A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy.

ASH: Spy talents are useful in all sorts of scenarios.

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Brunhild the Dragon Princess (the 2nd in the series), The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 7, The Irregular at Magic High School 23, and Magical Explorer: Reborn as a Side Character in a Fantasy Dating Sim 8.

And Yen Press has Gabriel Dropout 14 and Tales of Wedding Rings 14.

That ended up almost as long as the last one. What are you getting?

SEAN: Welcome to the traditional holiday of the 3rd week of September, National Yen Press Awareness Week.

ASH: Joy to all who celebrate.

SEAN: Yen On has the debut of Even a Replica Can Fall in Love (Replica Datte, Koi wo Suru). A girl is a “replica”, taking the place of another girl whenever there’s a test, or she doesn’t feel like going to school, etc. But then the “replica” fell in love with a boy.

ASH: Perhaps not the most unique premise, but it is of a genre that I enjoy.

SEAN: Hero Syndrome (Yūsha Shōkōgun) features a group of heroes who fight and destroy monsters… only it turns out the monsters are transformed heroes? Is there any way to save them rather than kill them?

ASH: Probably? Hopefully!

SEAN: Also from Yen On: Amalgam Hound: Investigation Bureau Criminal Division Special Unit 2, Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 5, A Certain Magical Index NT 3, Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle 6.5, Gods’ Games We Play 3, I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss 9, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 6, and Spy Classroom 8.

Yen Press debuts From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone (Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru – Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta no ni, Taisei shita Deshi-tachi ga Ore wo Hottekurenai ken), the manga adaptation of the light novel J-Novel Club is putting out. It’s about a humble sword instructor who is now invited to the royal capital by his former students. What can they learn from an average guy like him? For those who like “Gee, I’m just a basic guy, anyone could do what I do” protagonists (hint: no they can’t do what he does). This runs in Dokodemo Young Champion.

Pink & Habanero (Pink to Habanero) is a shoujo series from Margaret. A girl and a boy absolutely do not get along at school. Then she finds out his secret… a part-time job! This feels like a series you’d see in 2004, but it’s circa 2021.

MICHELLE: Yeah, it doesn’t sound riveting, but… Margaret!

ANNA: Here for the Margaret series enthusiasm too!

ASH: Yup!

SEAN: Spring Storm and Monster (Haru no Arashi to Monster) is a shoujo series from Hana to Yume. It’s the latest series from the creator of Cheeky Brat and Stray Cat & Wolf. A girl who just wants to quietly get through life finds her new stepbrother is a rude, violent jerk. This feels like a series you’d see in 2001, but it’s circa 2022.

MICHELLE : Heh.

ASH: Everything old is new again.

SEAN: Tougen Anki: Legend of the Cursed Blood is a Weekly Shonen Champion series with an anime coming soon. Our hero finds out that he has oni blood… right before his father is murdered for that fact. Now the boy wants revenge.

ASH: I do enjoy I good revenge tale.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Black Summoner 3 (a J-Novel Club imprint), Cheerful Amnesia 4, Dead Mount Death Play 12, The Executioner and Her Way of Life 5, The Girl I Saved on the Train Turned Out to Be My Childhood Friend 7, Goblin Slayer Side Story: Year One 11, God Bless the Mistaken 3, The Holy Grail of Eris 8, I Want to Be a Receptionist in This Magical World 5, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Memoria Freese 3, Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler – 17, Kowloon Generic Romance 8, The Maid I Hired Recently Is Mysterious 7, Me and My Beast Boss 3, Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun 15, Murciélago 24, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Chapter 4: The Sanctuary and the Witch of Greed 8, Secrets of the Silent Witch 3, Shadows House 7, The Shiunji Family Children 2, Sister and Giant: A Young Lady Is Reborn in Another World 2, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale 3, Tales of the Kingdom 5, This Monster Wants to Eat Me 2, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun 20, Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet 8, and Your Turn to Die: Majority Vote Death Game 5 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: I should catch up on Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun!

ASH: Oh, good! I wasn’t just imagining I saw Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun somewhere in there!

SEAN: Viz Media debuts Trillion Game, a new series from the writer of Eyeshield 21/Dr. Stone and the artist behind Crying Freeman. After seeing two multi-billionaires enjoying their success, the series flashes back to middle school, seeing how they made their billions. This runs in Big Comic Superior.

ANNA: What??? I am a bit of an Ikegami fan due to Mai the Psychic Girl being one of the first manga I ever read. Oh, the memories!!!

ASH: Definitely interested in this one. Seems like forever since we’ve seen Ikegami’s work!

SEAN: Also from Viz: #DRCL midnight children 3, Choujin X 7, Fool Night 2, Haikyu!! 3-in-1 2, Insomniacs After School 7, and Tokyo These Days 3 (the final volume).

Tokyopop has a new one-shot, The Troublesome Guest of Sotomura Detective Agency (Sotomura Tanteisha no Manekarezaru Kyaku). This is a BL series from LYNX about a detective and his lover, who at first is just a detective’s assistant and “it’s just sex” partner, but something more is growing between them.

MICHELLE: I don’t think I can resist detective-adjacent BL.

ANNA: What exactly is the “something more” that is growing between them???

ASH: What could it be??

SEAN: Square Enix has the 2nd volume of Just Like Mona Lisa and the 12th volume of Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!.

ASH: I’ve fallen behind on Cherry Magic!, but really enjoyed earlier volumes.

SEAN: Debuting from Seven Seas is I Abandoned My Engagement Because My Sister is a Tragic Heroine, but Somehow I Became Entangled with a Righteous Prince (Higeki no Heroine Buru Imouto no Sei de Konyaku Hakishita no desu ga, Naze ka Seigikan no Tsuyoi Outaishi ni Karamareru you ni narimashita), the manga adaptation of the light novel which had an early digital release two weeks ago. It comes out in Comic Gardo.

There’s also Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation – A Journey of Two Lifetimes, which is a sort of half artbook half guidebook dedicated to the popular series.

Also from Seven Seas: Dungeon People 4 and Obey Me! The Comic 3 (the final volume).

Kodansha has three debuts. I Cross-Dressed for the IRL Meetup (Josou-shite Off-Kai ni Sanka shite mita) is a shonen title from Twi-Sirius. A girl is happy to meet his three friends in real life for the first time, including her crush… but is reluctant to tell them she’s actually a guy. Then she finds out her crush ALSO has a secret. Another in the welcome series of debuts examining gender identity.

ASH: Love these sorts of debuts.

SEAN: Spoil Me Plzzz, Hinamori-san! (Amaesasete Hinamori-san!) is a Comic Yuri Hime title, so you know the genre. Our heroine admires her perfect, flawless, put-together sempai… then finds out the sempai is far from it, and wants attention desperately!

Tank Chair (Sensha Isu – Tank Chair) is a Shonen Sirius series about a girl who takes on assassin jobs… but she’s not the assassin. her comatose brother is, and he can only wake up when faced with murderous intent!

ASH: I had seen some passing praise of this series, but had no idea that was the plot.

SEAN: Also in print: BLOOD BLADE 3, Blood on the Tracks 17 (the final volume), Fire Force Omnibus 12 (the final volume), I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl 4, Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection 10, and Twilight Out of Focus 5.

For digital-only, we see How to Treat a Lady Knight Right 7 (the final volume), Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 22, My Master Has No Tail 12 (the final volume), We’re New at This 17, and Ya Boy Kongming! 17.

Four debuts for J-Novel Club. Accidentally in Love: The Witch, the Knight, and the Love Potion Slipup (Koisuru Majo wa Elite Kishi ni Horegusuri wo Nomasete Shimaimashita) is the manga adaptation of the light novel JNC already released, and it runs in Drecomics.

From Desk Job to Death Beam: In Another World with My Almighty Lasers (Saikyō Death Beam o Uteru Salaryman, Isekai o Yuku) is a light novel with another poor schlub accidentally murdered by a goddess. She offers him life in another world with the ability to shoot lasers AND the ability to attract cute beastgirls. What’s not to love?

ANNA: That does sound like a pretty good deal.

ASH: I’ve certainly heard of worse ones.

SEAN: Lacey Longs for Freedom: The Dawn Witch’s Low-Key Life after Defeating the Demon King (Akatsuki no Majo Lacey wa Jiyū ni Ikitai) is about a girl who THOUGHT her plotline was “get powerful magic, defeat the demon king, get married”, but then finds it’s really “broken engagement” after all. Now she can live on her own… but wait, *can* she live on her own?

Safe & Sound in the Arms of an Elite Knight (Doinaka no Hakugai Reijou wa Outo no Elite Kishi ni Dekiaisareru) is the manga adaptation of the light novel JNC already released, and it runs in Drecomics.

Also from J-Novel Club: An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 18, the 3rd The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases manga, Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers 15, Finding Avalon: The Quest of a Chaosbringer 4, the 5th Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village manga, I Could Never Be a Succubus! 4, Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World 8, My Magical Career at Court: Living the Dream After My Nightmare Boss Fired Me from the Mages’ Guild! 5, Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon 10, and Only I Know That This World Is a Game 5.

Ghost Ship gives us Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 9.

And Seven Seas’ mature books have two BL debuts. After School Etude (Houkago no Etude) features two men paired for ballet practice. Will love follow? (Yes.) This runs in Be x Boy Gold.

ANNA: Ballet manga!!!!!

ASH: Oh, very nice.

SEAN: And Hatsukoi Note is a one-shot from Dear +. Our hero comes across an internet diary confessing a gay crush… and he knows who the crush is! Time to play matchmaker… but will that go well?

ASH: Eventually, maybe?

SEAN: And no print titles for Airship next week, but we get three early digital books. Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 3, Modern Villainess: It’s Not Easy Building a Corporate Empire Before the Crash 5, and Raven of the Inner Palace 7 (the final volume).

Are you more aware of Yen Press? (And yes, they will be back next week with the runoff.) What are you getting?

ANNA: I want a ballet manga drawn by Ryoichi Ikegami, has that happened yet?

SEAN: Ballet assassins who kill rich bad people watching them from the opera box seats without anyone knowing? (This is just me suggesting, of course.)

ASH: I would absolutely read that.

SEAN: It is getting cooler? No? Ah well, had to ask. Back to manga.

ASH: I had hope there for a moment.

SEAN: Airship has two print titles out next week: She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 11 and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 5.

ASH: Unless!

SEAN: The early digital debut is Witch and Mercenary (Majo to Yōhei). Everyone knows witches are evil. Witches should be dead. Everyone but the witch, who’s wondering why everyone seems to hate her. So she hires a mercenary to go with her on adventures.

Dark Horse have a deluxe edition of the old Trigun manga, containing all the volumes (this is just Trigun proper, not the continuation) in a handsome hardcover.

ASH: I’ll admit, I do like this trend of deluxe releases.

SEAN: There’s a mature Seven Seas debut I will slot here, a manwha they are calling Perfect Buddy and also known as XXX Buddy, but you can probably fill in the x’s and you’ll be correct. Co-worker catches another co-worker doing naughty things in the company bathroom. Sex follows.

ASH: Uh-oh!

SEAN: Ghost Ship also has an 11th volume of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You.

ASH: One of these days I really will get around to giving this series a try.

SEAN: No new series for J-Novel Club next week, but we do see The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows 4, Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade 7-2 (the final volume), Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars 3, I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic 3, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 5, My Quiet Blacksmith Life in Another World 9, The Mythical Hero’s Otherworld Chronicles 8, the 2nd manga volume of The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World, To Another World… with Land Mines! 9, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 7 (the final volume).

For print, Kodansha Manga has FAIRY TAIL: 100 Years Quest 16, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 3, Turns Out My Online Friend is My Real-Life Boss! 2, and the 4th and final volume of Virgin Love.

The digital debut is Manchuria Opium Squad (Manshuu Ahen Squad), a dark seinen series from Comic Days. A soldier in 1930s Manchuria loses an eye, so is banished to an agricultural station where he’s abused by everyone around him. Then he finds… poppies. Unfortunately, this just leads to more problems. At Anime NYC, this was compared to Breaking Bad.

MICHELLE: It sounds depressing.

ANNA: Indeed.

ASH: Huh.

SEAN: Also digital: Altair: A Record of Battles 26, Gang King 21, Nina the Starry Bride 13, Quality Assurance in Another World 11, and Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2 3.

ANNA: Always happy for more Nina the Starry Bride!

ASH: And Tokyo Tarareba Girls 2!

SEAN: Two debuts from One Peace Books next week! Hero Without a Class: Who Even Needs Skills?! (Mushoku no Eiyuu: Betsu ni Skill Nanka Iranakattan daga) is the manga version of an as-yet unlicensed light novel, which runs in Earth Star Online. Betcha know the plot. Yup. Son of two famous people in a world where your fantasy “class” determines everything doesn’t have one. Cue bad things.

ASH: Bad things happen, ya know?

SEAN: Kurokiya-san Wants to Lead Him Around by the Nose (Tedama ni Toritai Kurokiya-san) is a romcom from Comic Meteor. Our heroine is about to flunk out of her year, so she gets her unflappable childhood friend to tutor her. She wants to seduce him. Alas, he’s unflappable.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Debuts from Seven Seas. Hatsune Miku: Cantarella ~Poison of Blue~ (Cantarella – Ao no Dokuyaku) is based on a Vocaloid song, and imagines Hatsune Miku as Lucrezia Borgia. It ran in Age Premium, and is a one-shot.

ASH: I feel like it’s been a moment since we’ve had a Borgia manga.

SEAN: Otonari Complex is a Kurofune Momo series about a guy who has pretty features and his childhood friend, a girl with handsome features, who both have to deal with gender presentation, their own feelings for each other, and other friends of theirs who may also have romantic feelings.

MICHELLE: I have heard good things about this one!

ANNA: It does sound intriguing!

ASH: My curiosity is piqued.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: A Cat from Our World and the Forgotten Witch 3, The Duke of Death and His Maid 14, The Eccentric Doctor of the Moon Flower Kingdom 7, Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi The Comic 7, His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 7, Hunting in Another World With My Elf Wife 5, The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife 4, Karate Survivor in Another World 6, Last Game 6, Monster Musume 17, Mushoku Tensei: Roxy Gets Serious 12 (the final volume), and The White Mage Doesn’t Want to Raise the Hero’s Level 3.

Square Enix has The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 20 and Tokyo Aliens 7.

SuBLime’s one release is a BL title, Takara’s Treasure (Takara no Biidoro), a Dear + done-in-one. Three years ago, a man was consoled while going through grief by the titular Takara. Now he’s come to Tokyo to find Takara… even if Takara wants nothing to do with him!

Viz has a debut. Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Anthology is exactly what you think it is.

ASH: Indeed.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Animal Crossing: New Horizons 7, Call of the Night 17, Fly Me to the Moon 25, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 11, Helck 11, Love’s in Sight! 8 (the final volume), Mao 18, and Naruto: Sasuke’s Story—The Uchiha and the Heavenly Stardust: The Manga 2 (the final volume).

ASH: I should really read Frieren at some point; more than one of my coworkers have been enjoying the series.

SEAN: Yen Press has some J-Novel Club print editions, as we see Ascendance of a Bookworm 26, In Another World With My Smartphone 28, the 5th Tearmoon Empire manga, and the 10th The Unwanted Undead Adventurer manga.

ASH: Bookworm! (I won’t be able to say that for too much longer, will I?)

SEAN: And they’re also releasing Bungo Stray Dogs: Dazai, Chuuya, Age Fifteen 2.

Something for everyone. What are you getting?

SEAN: This is the way the August ends.

ASH: Not with a bang, but still plenty of manga. (And light novels.)

SEAN: Four print titles from Airship, with two debuts. I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! (Atashi wa Seikan Kokka no Eiyū Kishi!) is a spinoff of I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!. It seems to star a knight? I suspect things will go badly for her, given the parent series.

ASH: Seems accurate.

SEAN: Ripping Someone Open Only Makes Them Bleed (Hara o Wattara Chi ga Deru Dakesa) is the latest trauma from the creator of I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. A high school girl has what seems to be the perfect life… and she’s made sure her every move and utterance is done to help that along. Then a boy shows up who looks just like the main character of her favorite book, and bad things start to follow.

ASH: That title sounds intense.

ANNA: Yikes!

SEAN: And we also see the 2nd and final volume of The Evil Queen’s Beautiful Principles and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 6.

Early digital volumes, meanwhile, give us I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner 3 (the final volume) and Trapped in a Dating Sim: Otome Games Are Tough For Us, Too! 2.

A debut from Cross Infinite World, as we see Too Strong to Belong! Banished to Another World! (Saikyou Joshi, Isekai e Iku!). A girl is simply TOO STRONG TO DIE in her original world, so God banishes her to another world where she can supposedly be a weak love interest and get a hot boyfriend. But… will that REALLY be how it goes?

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Also from CIW: By a Twist of Fate, I’m Attending the Royal Academy in Disguise 2, The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 5, and So You Want to Live the Slow Life? A Guide to Life in the Beastly Wilds 4.

Denpa Books has a 5th omnibus of Gambling Apocalypse: KAIJI.

ASH: Definitely reading this whenever it ends up being released. Could it really be next week?

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Ero Ninja Scrolls 6, Rise of the Outlaw Tamer and His S-Rank Cat Girl 4, and Survival in Another World with My Mistress! 6.

There’s also a mature Seven Seas debut, which I slot in here. This is a new danmei title, You’ve Got Mail: The Perils of Pigeon Post – Fei Ge Jiao You Xu Jin Shen. How did gay men in 400 AD exchange dick pics, you ask? Via an ancient singles’ club and some really good art! This is a “raunchy romantic comedy”.

MICHELLE: Huh. Somehow, I hadn’t heard of this one.

ASH: I am absolutely delighted by this premise.

SEAN: There’s one debut from J-Novel Club: The Blessing of Liefe: Leave This Magical Letdown Alone! (Liefe no Shukufuku: Muzokusei Mahou shika Tsukaenai Oochikobore Toshite Hottoite Kudasai). A girl is born with the abilities of Liefe… which means she can only cast really difficult spells that are mostly useless. Naturally, she and her mother are banished and she is laughed at by all. Can a magical academy for arrogant young nobles help her?

ASH: What a problem to have!

SEAN: Also from J-Novel Club: Black Summoner 18, Earl and Fairy 7, Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother 2, Knight’s & Magic 4, Rebuild World 5, the 9th Rebuild World manga, and Tearmoon Empire 13.

Kodansha Manga has a debut, but it’s a box set. Fire Force has its first six volumes in a box.

Also in print from Kodansha: Am I Actually the Strongest? 7, Blue Lock 14, The Blue Wolves of Mibu 3, Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 17, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! 11, In/Spectre 20, Kaina of the Great Snow Sea 2, and Shangri-La Frontier 13.

And for digital we see The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses 14, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life 28, Gamaran: Shura 23, Koigakubo-kun Stole My First Time 7, and The World is Dancing 6 (the final volume).

One Peace Books has a 3rd volume of Tales of the Tendo Family.

MICHELLE: Another title that is getting away from me.

ASH: I enjoyed the debut volume; I really should read more.

SEAN: Seven Seas debuts. Cat Companions Maruru and Hachi (Tsureneko – Maruru to Hachi) is a seinen title from Comic Days. A spoiled family cat gets lost one day, and meets up with a stray who doesn’t need anyone. Can the two become pals? Or… more than pals? (No, just pals. This is a freaking cat manga.)

ASH: Lol! I’m game for some cat manga. Look how cute they are together!

SEAN: Someone’s Girlfriend (Aitsu no Kanojo) is a dark romance from Sunday Web Every about a boy who falls in love with his best friend’s girlfriend… only to find that she’s now coming on to him.

ASH: Uh-oh.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon: My Party Tried to Kill Me, But Thanks to an Infinite Gacha I Got LVL 9999 Friends and Am Out For Revenge 6, Dai Dark 7, Gravitation: Collector’s Edition 2, Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord: Production Magic Turns a Nameless Village into the Strongest Fortified City 3, I Married My Female Friend 3, Monster Guild: The Dark Lord’s (No-Good) Comeback! 7, Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General 10, and Tokyo Revengers 23-24.

Tokyopop has A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 8 and I Was Reincarnated as the Villainess in an Otome Game but the Boys Love Me Anyway! 5.

Viz has a novel based on the mobile game, with art by the Black Butler artist. Disney Twisted-Wonderland: Rose-Red Tyrant makes us all nostalgic for last decade, when you could not read a single Manga the Week of without one or two Alice titles.

And for fans of bulky hardcovers, we see My Neighbor Totoro Film Comic: All-in-One Edition, 584 pages of pure, undiluted Totoro.

And we get Spy x Family: The Official Anime Guide—Mission Report: 220409-0625, which is a guide to the first 12 episodes of the super popular series.

They also have How Do We Relationship? 11.

ASH: I really need to get caught up with this series; I really enjoyed the early volumes.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press still has some stuff. Including some stuff I told you about last time, because they split the digital and print titles. I’ll skip repeating myself.

Riviere and the Land of Prayer (Inori no Kuni wo Lilliere – Majo no Tabitabi Gaiden) is a manga adaptation of the light novel, which Yen also has. It’s a spinoff of Wandering Witch as well. A shop assistant learns about curses and prayers from a mysterious shop owner.

Also from Yen: Apparently, Disillusioned Adventurers Will Save the World 6, Bocchi the Rock! 4, CLAMP Premium Collection Tokyo Babylon 4, The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess: Short Story Collection, The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 4, Gahi-chan! 3, Glitch 4 (the final volume), Handyman Saitou in Another World 5, Higurashi When They Cry: MEGURI 3, Let This Grieving Soul Retire 8, Maiden of the Needle 4, Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord 3, [Oshi No Ko] 7, A Reincarnated Witch Spells Doom 5, So What’s Wrong with Getting Reborn as a Goblin? 6, and The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 6.

MICHELLE: Definitely gotta read Glitch. I enjoyed Lost Lad London by the same creator so much.

ANNA: Oh, this is on my radar now then!

SEAN: This is a big week given that it’s AFTER a Yen Week. Are Yen Weeks a thing of the past?

SEAN: Next week is Anime NYC and also Yen Press week. Yikes!

ASH: Here we go!

SEAN: Several debuts for Yen On. Hell Is Dark with No Flowers (Jigoku Kura Yami Hana mo Naki), a horror title about a boy who can see monsters getting room and board in exchange for sending those possessed by yokai… to Hell!

ASH: Well, now, that sounds exactly like something I would read.

ANNA: That does sound charming.

SEAN: My First Love’s Kiss (Watashi no Hatsukoi Aite ga Kiss Shiteta) is a yuri light novel series from the creator of Adachi and Shimamura. Our heroine is annoyed when her classmate and her mother are now living with them. It doesn’t help that the classmate is so pretty. But where does she go at night?

ASH: Glad to see more yuri novels being licensed.

SEAN: Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Short Story Collection is what it sounds. This collection takes place after Vol. 3 of the main series, and also is the introduction of a character we were supposed to already know from the 5th arc. The dangers of licensing short story collections.

Sword Art Online Alternative Clover’s Regret is the second in the Alternative series, now that we’ve caught up with Gun Gale Online. This series follows the adventures of the Sleeping Knights in a Japanese-themed game.

Also from Yen On: Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian 5, Blade & Bastard 2 (a JN-C print release), The Ephemeral Scenes of Setsuna’s Journey 4, Hell Mode 5 (a JN-C print release), The Hero Laughs While Walking the Path of Vengeance a Second Time 7, High School DxD 14, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 8, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? 19, King’s Proposal 5, Magical Girl Raising Project 18 (the final volume), The Misfit of Demon King Academy 4-1 (a J-NC print release), My Happy Marriage 7, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! 5 (a JN-C print release), Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus (the 13th in the series), Riviere and the Land of Prayer 2, Sabikui Bisco 8, Sentenced to Be a Hero 3, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 19, and Your Forma 6.

ASH: So many books.

SEAN: As for Yen Press, they also have debuts. The Hachioji Specialty: Tengu’s Love (Hachiouji Meibutsu Tengu no Koi) is a shoujo title from Asuka. A young man returns to his home village… where he has to marry a tengu demon he met as a child! He doesn’t want this, but she won’t let that stop her.

ASH: Interesting, that plot is more commonly encountered the other way around.

ANNA: Hmmmm.

SEAN: In Another World, My Sister Stole My Name (Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita) is a shoujo title from Flos Comic. A girl has been communicating with a boy from another world via a magic hand mirror… then her older sister and the mirror disappear. Now her sister has stolen her life in another world?

ASH: Uh-oh!

SEAN: The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies (Katsute Mahou Shoujo to Aku wa Tekitai Shite Ita) is an omnibus containing the entire series before the author’s unfortunate death. She also wrote Inu x Buku SS, and this is getting an anime. It ran in Gangan Joker, and is another one of those “good guy and bad guy fall in love” series.

Rejected by the Hero’s Party, a Princess Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside (Shin no Nakama ni Narenakatta Ohime-sama wa, Henkyou de Slow Life Suru Koto ni Shimashita) is a spinoff of Banished from the Hero’s Party, showing what Rit was up to between the first time she met Red/Gideon and the second. It runs in Shonen Ace Plus.

ASH: I highly recommend the quiet countryside life when dealing with rejection. Or anytime, really.

SEAN: Strategic Lovers is a shonen title from (oh dear) Dragon Age. The son of a wealthy businessman and his mistress, our hero didn’t think he was in the line of succession… but he is! Now he’s been kidnapped by young women, all of whom are after his body! This is basically softcore porn, for that sort of audience.

ASH: It does have that vibe, doesn’t it.

SEAN: Also from Yen Press: Breasts Are My Favorite Things in the World! 8 (the final volume), Bungo Stray Dogs 24, Cheeky Brat 11, Friday at the Atelier 2, I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too 5, I Kept Pressing the 100-Million-Year Button and Came Out on Top 6, The Illustrated Guide to Monster Girls 4 (the final volume), My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected @ comic 22 (the final volume), She Likes Gays, but Not Me 2, The Summer Hikaru Died 4, The Tiger Won’t Eat the Dragon Yet 2, and Witch Life in a Micro Room 3.

ASH: The Summer Hikaru Died is definitely the one that interests me the most out of that batch.

SEAN: Onward. Debuting from Viz this week is I Wanna Do Bad Things with You (Kimi to Warui Koto ga Shitai), a romcom from Shonen Sunday. A girl offers to help a jealous younger brother derail his perfect older brother’s student council campaign. But is he just a “villain”?

Also from Viz: Hirasuyumi 2, Jujutsu Kaisen 23, Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. 3, Mission: Yozakura Family 12, The Way of the Househusband 12, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead 15.

ASH: Oops, I’ve got some The Way of the Househusband catching up to do.

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Steamship has a 3rd volume of Revenge: Mrs. Wrong.

From Square Enix we get Mr. Villain’s Day Off 5 and Ragna Crimson 13.

Seven Seas has two debuts. Hate Me, but Let Me Stay (Kiraide Isasete) is a BL title from Be x Boy Omegaverse. Yes, that’s now an entire magazine. I… look, it’s A/B/O. You know what the premise will be, I don’t need to summarize it.

And Too Many Losing Heroines! (Make Heroine ga Oosugiru!) is the manga version of the light novel we’ve talked about, and runs in Ura Sunday.

Also from Seven Seas: 365 Days to the Wedding 4, Black Night Parade 4, Cat on the Hero’s Lap 3, Don’t Call it Mystery 9-10, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 19, My Girlfriend’s Child 5, Orb: On the Movements of the Earth 5-6, A White Rose in Bloom 3, and You Like Me, Not My Daughter?! 4.

MICHELLE: I’ll never not cheer for Yumi Tamura!

ASH: Ditto!

ANNA: Yes, although I’m so far behind!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 5th and final volume of It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too.

KUMA gives us Even if There’s No Rainbow Tomorrow (Ashita Niji ga Denakute mo), a one-shot title from On Blue. An online romance between a drag queen and a sleepy salaryman.

MICHELLE: This looks really interesting!

ASH: I am likewise intrigued.

SEAN: The print debut from Kodansha Manga is Kusunoki’s Flunking Her High School Glow-Up (Kusunoki-san wa Koukou Debut ni Shippai shite Iru), a josei title from Comic Pool. A new high school boy is determined to be rid of his horrible middle school life and remake himself. Unfortunately, one classmate from his middle school knows the real him… and she’s trying to do the same thing! For those who enjoy seeing introverts attempt to change.

ASH: Hooray for josei!

ANNA: Indeed!

SEAN: Also in print: Bakemonogatari 22 (the final volume), I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 13, Ogami-san Can’t Keep It In 6, and Welcome Back, Alice 7 (the final volume).

And digitally we get Issak 9, Medalist 10, and WIND BREAKER 16.

No new volumes for J-Novel Club, as they had so many last time. But we do see The Crown of Rutile Quartz 2, Duchess in the Attic manga volume 3, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects manga volume 5, The Invincible Little Lady manga volume 4, Private Tutor to the Duke’s Daughter 13, Sweet Reincarnation 10, Taking My Reincarnation One Step at a Time: No One Told Me There Would Be Monsters! 6, and VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream 7.

Ghost Ship debuts an omnibus of a previously released title with Do You Like Big Girls? 1-2. There’s also the 7th and final volume of JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World. And in mature Seven Seas stuff, we get The Husky and His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun 6.

Apologies to Drawn & Quarterly, who I missed in last week’s list. They’ve got another Yoshihara Tsuge title, Oba Electroplating Factory (Nejishiki), a collection of short stories from Garo.

ASH: I just picked up my copy!

SEAN: Airship, in print, has Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 7 and I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 7.

And digitally we see a one-shot debut, An Autumn in Amber, a Zero-Second Journey (Kohaku no Aki, 0-byō no Tabi), another book by Mei Hachimoku, Seven Seas’ resident “bittersweet sci-fi teen romance” author. Not sure if this is bittersweet, but there’s sci-fi and teens. A boy who hates being touched and a snarky delinquent girl find time has stopped for everyone but them.

And there’s also Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 19.

I’m so tired. So very, very tired after writing all that.

ASH: You’ve more than earned you rest. Thank you for your service.