Manga Bookshelf

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Michelle Smith

Pick of the Week: The Summer Hikaru Is Published

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MICHELLE: Kaze Hikaru! I am tempted to say “Enough said,” but there’s also the third and final volume of Guardian that’s very high on my list.

SEAN: Yeah, we only get to do this once a year, so it’s definitely Kaze Hikaru this week. Though I am also interested in <Guardian.

ANNA: Kaze Hikaru, no question!

ASH: As far as debuts go, I find The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store is the one that intrigues me the most. But, yeah, I shall also join in with a hearty Kaze Hikaru!

KATE: Do I even need to say it? Kaze Hikaru! The release schedule is frustrating, but I’m grateful that VIZ has stayed the course with this lovely, lively, and sometimes heartbreaking series.

Manga the Week of 8/14/24

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SEAN: Typing out Manga the Week of in the short break between killer thunderstorms.

ASH: There have been a few, haven’t there?

SEAN: Debuting in print for Airship is Too Many Losing Heroines! (Make Heroine ga Oosugiru!), whose anime is currently getting a very large animation budget. It’s a romcom about (sigh) a plain, boring guy who suddenly finds that all the hot, popular girls in his class are confessing to the guys they like… and being shot down! What’s going on here?

ASH: Only time will tell, I’m sure.

SEAN: Also in print: Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 7, Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 12, and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 7.

And for early digital we see 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! 6 and There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 5.

Denpa Books has a 5th omnibus of Nana & Kaoru.

From Ghost Ship, 2.5 Dimensional Seduction 11 and Inside the Tentacle Cave 3. And, in Mature Seven Seas titles, we get Killing Stalking: Deluxe Edition 7.

ASH: I really need to get around to giving Killing Stalking a try.

SEAN: There’s a GIANT PILE of J-Novel Club debuts for next week, all light novels. We’ll start with The Fake Hero Crashes the Party (Kono Hi, “Itsuwari no Yūsha” dearu Ore wa “Shin no Yūsha” dearu Kare wo Party Kara Tsuihōshita) stars two boyhood friends, one of whom is the hero… and one of whom is, unbeknownst to anyone else, “Fake Hero”. After the obligatory banishing from the hero’s party, can this “bad guy” find a way to do good?

The Hero and the Sage, Reincarnated and Engaged (Eiyū to Kenja no Tenseikon) stars two soldiers who fought for years for their respective nations, but the rivalry was never resolved as one passed away. Now they’re reincarnated, and really want to fight to resolve their rivalry! Clearly, the best way to do that is to get engaged.

The Poison King: Now that I’ve Gained Ultimate Power, the Bewitching Beauties in My Harem Can’t Get Enough of Me (Doku no Ō: Saikyō no Chikara ni Kakusei shita Ore wa Biki-tachi wo Shitagae, Hatsujō Harem no Ō to Naru). A boy inherits a curse from his late mother, which means everyone except one loyal maid despises him. When a doctor examines him and shows him how to overcome the curse, he discovers his other true power: get every woman he knows to want to have sex with him. This is one of THOSE books.

ASH: There have been a few, haven’t there?

SEAN: The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World (Saikyō Onmyōji no Isekai Tenseiki) is… um,. honestly, the title should tell you exactly what’s going to happen. Reincarnated as a noble, supposedly no magic, but he has SORCERY, which is so much more powerful. I bet he goes to a magic academy too.

The Royal Hostage Has Vanished: The Black Wolf Knight Yearns for the Persecuted Princess (Hitojichi Hime ga, Shōsoku wo Tatta. Kuro Ōkami no Kishi wa Rinkoku no Shiitagerareta Hime wo Zenryoku de Aishimasu) is the one J-Novel Heart title in this list. A knight goes to retrieve a princess offered up as war reparations, only to find she’s been abused most of her life, and is also now dead. Stunned, he returns home… to find a mysterious young woman who looks a lot like this princess.

ASH: Unsurprisingly, it’s the Heart title that interests me the most out of those.

ANNA: yeah.

SEAN: There’s also a pile of ongoing titles. We see Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- manga volume 3, DUNGEON DIVE: Aim for the Deepest Level 8, Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I’m Bored 7, The Faraway Paladin manga volume 12, Goodbye, Overtime! This Reincarnated Villainess Is Living for Her New Big Brother manga volume 2, Holmes of Kyoto 19, The Invincible Summoner Who Crawled Up from Level 1: Wrecking Reincarnators with My Hidden Dungeon 2, Management of a Novice Alchemist 2, Now I’m a Demon Lord! Happily Ever After with Monster Girls in My Dungeon manga volume 7, Peddler in Another World: I Can Go Back to My World Whenever I Want! 8, and A Surprisingly Happy Engagement for the Slime Duke and the Fallen Noble Lady 2 (the final volume).

ASH: That list really does keep going.

SEAN: Kodansha has no print debuts, but we do see The Fable Omnibus 3, Gazing at the Star Next Door 3, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World 10, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 8, Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! 5, Quality Assurance in Another World 9, Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement 8, The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse 13, Sketchy 3, Wandance 10, Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun 9, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 8.

MICHELLE: Insert obligatory remorse for not yet having read Iruma-kun.

ASH: It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve seen so much print from Kodansha all at once.

SEAN: The digital debut is That Beauty Is a Tramp (Sono Bijin (Otoko) Fushidara ni Tsuki), a josei title from Comic Tint. A woman traumatized by a past incident wants a boyfriend, but any man who touches her causes her to reject them. Then she meets an androgynous model. Can he help her out? This is from the author of Such a Treacherous Piano Sonata.

Also digital: Gang King 20, Giant Killing 44, I Have a Crush at Work 5, Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms 13, and Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2 2.

One Peace Books has Usotoki Rhetoric 8.

MICHELLE: I need to get back on this series.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying it!

SEAN: Seven Seas has, in their danmei line, the 3rd and final volume of Guardian: Zhen Hun. There’s also a special edition with posters, stickers, etc.

MICHELLE: Over already?! Waah.

SEAN: Two debuts from Seven Seas. The Concierge at Hokkyoku Department Store (Hokkyoku Hyakkaten no Concierge-san), a seinen manga from Bic Comic Zoukan. A new employee finds that her department store caters to talking animals!

ASH: This looks like it could be fun.

ANNA: Sounds amusing!

SEAN: Killer Shark in Another World (Isekai Kuimetsu no Same) is a seinen title from Comic Valkyrie. A young girl is a terrible summoner who everyone mocks… till she summons a monster that can transform into B-movie sharks. This is one of THOSE books, though in a different way than The Poison King.

Also from Seven Seas: CANDY AND CIGARETTES 9, Classroom of the Elite 11, Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells 8, How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? 15, Life with an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated into a Total Fantasy Knockout 4, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation 19, My Cat is Such a Weirdo 4, and Yokai Cats 8.

Square Enix Books has The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses 11, The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl 6, and My Isekai Life: I Gained a Second Character Class and Became the Strongest Sage in the World! 14.

ANNA: I need to read more Ice Guy and Cool Girl.

SEAN: Steamship has a manga debut. Alpha Wolfgirl x Omega Wolfboy (Oukami α-san to Oukami Ω-kun) is a josei title from Jour that asks “what if A/B/O but het?”.

ASH: Hmmm.

ANNA: I dunno.

SEAN: SuBLime has Don’t Be Cruel: plus+ 3 and Given 9 (the final volume).

ASH: Given is another one I’ve been enjoying but need to catch up on.

ANNA: Same!

SEAN: Udon Entertainment has a debut. More than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers (Fuufu Ijou, Koibito Miman) is a seinen series in Young Ace. A school forces its students to do mandatory couples training, where they have to prove – under surveillance – they can live with another person. But our hero’s other person… is a gyaru! Horrors! This is an omnibus of the first 2 volumes.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: Debuting from Viz is Deadpool: Samurai—The Official Coloring Book. It is what it says.

They’ve also got Akane-banashi 7, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu Academy 3, I Want to End This Love Game 3, Kaze Hikaru 32, My Hero Academia: Team-Up Missions 5, Pokémon: Sword & Shield 10, Sakura, Saku 4, Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle 25, Splatoon 3: Splatlands 2, and Star Wars: The High Republic: Edge of Balance 3.

MICHELLE: It’s time for the annual rejoicing about Kaze Hikaru!

ASH: Huzzah!

ANNA: Yay!!!!

SEAN: And Yen Press has three J-Novel Club titles for print. We get Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 3 Volume 2 (that’s the manga), By the Grace of the Gods 11, and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 11.

So it turns out the cat titles are here, not in the last Manga the Week of. Rejoice!

ASH: Woo!

Pick of the Week: Farewell, Alpha

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SEAN: My pick this week is the final volume of Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou, a series that I never thought would get licensed and I am delighted that it did.

MICHELLE: I’ve been playing a lot of Monster of the Week lately, so a story about a supernatural consultant who’s investigating a creepy house with a creepy room is right up my street. The Strange House for me!

KATE: I second Sean’s pick: Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou was on my radar for YEARS before it was licensed, and it’s better than I’d hope it would be. Like Station Eleven, this is a story about a post-apocalyptic world where the few survivors find meaning by hanging on to small but important rituals. I know I’m making it sound like a major downer, but Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou isn’t the least bit depressing; if anything, I find each new volume makes me feel just a little more hopeful about the future.

ASH: Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou is absolutely a solid choice. And now that the series has been fully released, I plan on spending some time with it. But I’m also going to second Michelle’s pick; The Strange House sounds like something I should be reading, too.

ANNA: I’m convinced to give Yokohama Kaidachi Kikou a try!

Bookshelf Briefs 8/3/24

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Adults’ Picture Book: New Edition, Vol. 2 | By Kei Itoi | Yen Press – This continues to be really well-written provided that you can deal with awkward introverts who don’t like talking trying to raise a ball of fun who is nevertheless far more clever than her father wants her to be. Now married, Fusako is trying to figure out what that means… though before she does that, she might want to invest in a GPS so she doesn’t walk over an hour to get home after work. Meanwhile, Kudou’s colleagues bring him gifts (that he doesn’t want) and also muse on his sexuality, which is still very ambiguous. He states he’s not gay, but it’s pretty clear he was in love with Jinno. The premise of this manga seems to be defining “normal”… or more accurately, asking why people have to try really hard to be normal at all. Fascinating. – Sean Gaffney

Bocchi the Rock!, Vol. 3 | By Aki Hamazi | Yen Press – Make no mistake, Bocchi is the main reason to read this series, but I do appreciate that the other three girls in the main cast are not just there to react to her. They’ve each got their own issues. Kita worries her voice isn’t conveying the song as well as it could, worries that don’t go away when the singer from a rival band confirms it for her. Nijika is the leader of the band, so of course wants it to go far, even if that means playing at bad venues and having to face up to the fact that she’s a drummer and can’t do a cool pose. Even Ryo gets stuff to do, though I admit of the four leads hers is the one that most often comes down to “the stoic but weird one” most often. As for Bocchi herself, she’s still a mess, but far less than volume one. She’s coming along. – Sean Gaffney

Captain Momo’s Secret Base, Vol. 1 | By Kenji Tsuruta | Dark Horse – It’s 3019 CE and Captain Momo and her first officer, a tuxedo cat named Grandpa John, are escorting a space freighter on a years-long journey. This manga chronicles their daily adventures, by which I mean the distinct lack of same. These include using the meal replicator to create a toy mouse for Grandpa John, napping, and dealing with massive piles of stuff everywhere. She’s also naked the whole time. It’s not salacious, unless you count the time she flashes her coworker, but it’s definitely inescapable. Towards the end, somewhat of a plot develops, in that Momo currently doesn’t have enough energy reserves to complete her journey successfully, and must find a way to make up the deficit. I’m just not sure I’m interested enough to see how that turns out for her. – Michelle Smith

Chasing Spica, Vol. 1 | By Chihiro Orihi | Seven Seas – I was looking at comments about this manga, and I saw someone asking whether it was really OK to be rooting for the blackmailer in this series? Well, are we supposed to? Honestly, both leads are damaged in some way, shape or form. The blackmailer, Serika, is the “protagonist” mostly as the story comes from her perspective in this book, and it’s her own struggles that kickstart the plot. That said, I can’t deny that I’m more interested in Reiko, who is seemingly the prim and proper opposite to Serika but in reality is something much more complex, and grounded in apparent past family trauma. Plus we get “I’m good at something too. Sex.”, which is one of those over-the-top lines that makes me hope this eventually sees an anime. I was intrigued. I’ll read more. – Sean Gaffney

I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl, Vol. 2 | By Kashikaze| Kodansha Manga – It’s always tricky when two girls are in love but one of them isn’t quite aware that’s what this is. Sora definitely knows what this is—she’s been in love with Ayaka from the moment she first saw her. Unfortunately, not only does Ayaka not remember that, but she’s also perhaps unaware of her own feelings—since she sees her relationship with Sora as being based around the request from the teacher (and explaining about her perfect older brother helps explain more why she took it), the burgeoning feelings inside her can’t be romantic—they’ve got to be the TRUE friendship that exists beyond the commodity that they had before! If this seems frustrating, welcome to yuri manga, but it’s cute and they’re great kids. They’ll work it out. – Sean Gaffney

My Hero Academia, Vol. 38 | By Kohei Horikoshi | Viz Media – A definite step up from the last volume, here we see the heroes starting to have a comeback. There is a bit of shonen eye-rolling to get through, as EVERYONE has to come back for one last appearance to help out. This includes Lady Nagant, whom we last saw exploded but with her death unconfirmed, sniping All for One despite her massive wounds. It also includes the cast of Shiketesu, leading to the best callback of the series, where Camie does her “shojo manga” duplicate of Hawks, which manages to fool AFO enough for the real, injured Hawks to get away. And yes, that means it’s also the chapter with the translated footnotes that a very annoying fandom thought were made up by the translator. No, you missed the joke. Try again, folks. – Sean Gaffney

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 19 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – The danger of long-running suspense series, especially ones with a supernatural bent like QueQua, is that there needs to be escalation to keep the reader interested. Shonen does this too, of course, but there it’s bigger and stronger villains, whereas here it’s bigger and more personal villains. Fumi has struggled with past memories for the entirety of the series, even back when it was QQ Sweeper, and the revelations that come up here are less “oh my God, we had no idea” and more “oh my God, she’s going to be depressed even more now.” But Fumi is made of sterner stuff (well, she is in the hospital—again—in this book) and is prepared, if necessary, to make this fight even more personal than it’s already been. Good stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Sister and Giant: A Young Lady Is Reborn in Another World, Vol. 1 | By Be-Con | Yen Press – “Sister” is used here in the Maria-sama Ga Miteru vein—indeed, they seem to explicitly have the same uniforms. Sadly, the sisterly relationship we see seems to have gone sour, in a lethal way—not a truck, but a train. The “Giant,” however, is very real, a young woman who is belittled and abandoned by everyone else in her tribe, but finds this isekai’d girl with no powers (she explicitly rejected them) is her savior. Together the two of them struggle to do adventuring jobs, fight off evil rapists from (of course) the Church, and look for those who abandoned them. Unfortunately, the other girl who got hit by the train was not proud enough to reject cool powers, and I think that might come back to bite her. A good take on isekai. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 26 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – It’s been a YEAR since the last volume, and I have, of course, forgotten everything. My last review notes Ryu’s character growth, and now we see why—he’s staying behind while Shirayuki moves on, and the new arc, whatever it may be, begins in earnest. At least she has Zen with her for now. We also get to see more of Kiki and Hisame, and I think the reader may finally be coming to terms with the fact that, now that they’ve both grown up a lot, they’re a very good couple. So are Shirayuki and Zen, but that has to advance at a snail’s pace due to the nature of this manga, and it doesn’t help that it’s on a yearly schedule in Japan now as well, so we’re going to wait just as long for the next book. I’ll always be buying it, though. – Sean Gaffney

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 19 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – The only teasing going on here is teasing the reader, as we get a chapter where newlyweds Takagi and Nishikata (yes, another flashforward) resolve to use each other’s first names… but WE don’t hear what they are. Other than that, this is the penultimate volume of the series, so it’s setting up for the ending… except I suspect the ending will be pretty vague, so instead it’s sort of meandering along with more heartwarming than funny, including the scene where Takagi gets sick and he visits her home, and more scenes showing that Nishikata and Takagi are basically dating, and would be making out every day if he could work up the nerve. (He can’t even touch her back without having a breakdown.) The next one’s the last, should be fun. – Sean Gaffney

This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Vol. 1 | By Sai Naekawa | Yen Press – I read this suspecting it would be a bit depressing, and it is a bit, but the overly of mystery and horror helps to distract you. Hinako lives alone in a seaside town, and dwells on her parents and brother, who were killed at some point in the past. As a word of warning, she pretty much as suicidal thoughts throughout this volume, and I don’t see that changing. She ends up meeting a girl who turns out to be a mermaid, who wants to eat Hinako… but not yet, as she’s not tasty enough. The implication seems to be Hinako is too depressed to taste good, so as metaphors go it’s not bad. I’m most intrigued by Hinako’s friend Miko, who is her bestest bestest friend and does not like this new girl (the mermaid transfers in) at all. This is a riveting title. – Sean Gaffney

Manga the Week of 8/7/24

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SEAN: The Dog Days and Cat Manga of August are here.

ASH: How? How is it August already??

MICHELLE: I truly do not know.

SEAN: No debuts for Viz Media, but we do see Blue Exorcist 29, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 20 (the final volume, though the continuation to this is still going), The Elusive Samurai 12, In the Name of the Mermaid Princess 3, My Special One 7, Neighborhood Story 3, Rainbow Days 11, Spy x Family 12, and You and I Are Polar Opposites 2.

MICHELLE: I’ve really gotta read Neighborhood Story.

ASH: I’ve been collecting them, but I really need to read them at some point, too.

ANNA: I read the first volume! I’m glad it is coming out in English.

SEAN: Tokyopop has the 4th and final volume of Since I Could Die Tomorrow.

And Square Enix Manga has Daemons of the Shadow Realm 5.

Debuting from Seven Seas next week is The Strange House (Hen na Ie), a horror/mystery manga based on a novel, that runs in Ichijinsha’s Comic HOWL. A supernatural consultant runs up against a creepy house with a very creepy room.

MICHELLE: Ooooh.

ASH: I’m very curious about this one.

ANNA: Sounds interesting!

SEAN: A spinoff also debuts, Tokyo Revengers: A Letter from Keisuke Baji (Tokyo Revengers – Baji Keisuke kara no Tegami). This Magazine pocket title is, I’m going to guess, about one of the supporting cast of the main series.

On the danmei front, Seven Seas has The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish: Canji Baojun De Zhangxin Yu Chong 2.

ASH: I am still very pleased by the danmei trend.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Chronicles of an Aristocrat Reborn in Another World 10, Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk 9, Kemono Jihen 12, The Knight Captain is the New Princess-to-Be 4 (the final volume), The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan 7, and Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou: Deluxe Edition 5 (the final volume).

ASH: Gotta get caught up with that one, as well!

SEAN: One Peace Books has the 6th manga volume of The Death Mage.

One print debut for Kodansha Manga: Pupposites Attract (Seihantai na Watashitachi), a shoujo/josei title from Comic Pool that started as a Pixiv title. A man and a woman with opposite personalities meet when they walk their dogs… who also have opposite personalities! Will romance follow? (Hint: yes.)

MICHELLE: This title made me think it was going to be about puppet romance.

ASH: Haha! I’m sure there must be one of those out there somewhere.

ANNA: Maybe it will be on next month’s list!

SEAN: Also in print: The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity 2, My Lovesick Life as a ’90s Otaku 4 (the final volume), That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Omnibus 3, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 6, and WIND BREAKER 7.

MICHELLE: I definitely want to read the ’90s Otaku manga!

SEAN: On the digital side, we see Abe-kun’s Got Me Now! 13 (the final volume), Chihayafuru 45, Life 17, and Those Snow White Notes 20.

There’s only one debut for J-Novel Club, and it’s a manga adaptation of a light novel they already had. Stuck in a Time Loop: When All Else Fails, Be a Villainess (Loop kara Nukedasenai Akuyaku Reijou wa, Akiramete Suki Katte Ikiru Koto ni Kimemashita) is a Drecomi title about a villainess who’s also looping, and who finally decides “screw it” and takes charge.

ASH: Someone has to!

SEAN: J-Novel Club also has This Art Club Has a Problem! 4, Butareba -The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig- 4, the 4th Hell Mode manga, I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! 6, Min-Maxing My TRPG Build in Another World 9-1, the 5th My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer manga, Record of Wortenia War 25, Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! 9, and Zilbagias the Demon Prince: How the Seventh Prince Brought Down the Kingdom 2.

The debut from Ghost Ship is She’s the Strongest Bride, But I’m Stronger in Night Battles: A Harem Chronicle of Advancing Through Cunning Tactics (Isekai Saikyou no Yome desu ga, Yoru no Tatakai wa Ore no Hou ga Tsuyoi you desu – Chiryaku wo Ikashite Nariagaru Harem Senki), which runs in Futabasha’s Gaugau Monster. An isekai’d guy with a nerdy interest in military history is now the husband of the demon queen… and also terrific in bed, as this is a Ghost Ship series.

ASH: Well, of course.

ANNA: That’s some combo of interests and skills right there.

SEAN: Also from Ghost Ship: Might as Well Cheat: I Got Transported to Another World Where I Can Live My Wildest Dreams! 8 and World’s End Harem: Fantasia 12.

Denpa has three titles listed from retailers as coming out next week: Heavenly Delusion 7, Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family 6, and Vampeerz 5. (I suspect Emiya Family is wrong, but the other two are more likely).

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: And Airship gives us Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 9 in print, and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 11 in early digital.

Hey, there was no cat manga at all. Boo! Anything else interest you?

ASH: I was waiting for the cat manga!

ANNA: Me too!

Pick of the Week: Vampires and Villainessin’

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MICHELLE: I don’t have the best track record in terms of actually reading the danmei titles that interest me, but Peerless is really appealing. Bonus points if it has a satisfying mystery element.

SEAN: I’m going to go with a rare pick I know absolutely nothing about. But the cover is just so darn cute! Noss and Zakuro is my vampire mom and daughter pick.

ASH: I’m with you both… and for many of the same reasons. But if I have to pick only one, the cuteness of the Noss and Zakuro cover has me slightly more interested in vampires this week.

ANNA: I’m going to pick Let’s Get to Villainessin’: Stratagems of a Former Commoner just because I like the word Villainessin’.

Manga the Week of 7/31/24

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SEAN: It was the end of Julys, it was the beginning of Augusts…

We start off with Airship, which has print for Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 7.

And the early digital debut is I’m the Heroic Knight of an Intergalactic Empire! (Atashi wa Seikan Kokka no Eiyū Kishi!). As the title might suggest, it’s 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: And there’s also Free Life Fantasy Online: Immortal Princess 7.

Cross Infinite World has two debuts. The Former Assassin Who Got Reincarnated as a Noble Girl (Moto Ansatsusha, Tenseishite Kizoku no Reijou ni Narimashita) is sort of a villainess reversal, as a former killer is now nobility… but this is still Villainess nobility, so she can’t just relax.

Let’s Get to Villainessin’: Stratagems of a Former Commoner (Saa, Akuyaku Reijou no wo Shigoto wo Hajimemashou: Moto Shomin no Watashi ga Idomu Zunousen) is one of those “modern-day Japan” stories rather than fantasy Europe world, but the plot remains the same: our heroine has to survive three years pretending to be an elite at a rich academy. The catch: this is an otome game, and the girl she’s replacing is the villainess. Great title, if nothing else.

MICHELLE: I gotta admit, “Villainessin'” definitely caught my eye.

ANNA: Amazing.

ASH: So many villainesses these days! Villainii?

SEAN: Also from CIW: The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Scores an Enemy General! 3.

Hanashi Media has a debut. Observation Records of My Fiancée: The Misadventures of a Self-Proclaimed Villainess (Jishou Akuyaku Reijou na Konyakusha no Kansatsu Kiroku) is a light novel whose manga came out from Alphapolis a while ago. A crown prince is somewhat baffled by his fiancee telling him she’s a villainess who is reincarnated, and she’s trying her hardest to be evil. There’s one slight issue. She’s an idiot.

MICHELLE: Snerk.

ANNA: Ooops!

SEAN: They also have the 2nd volume of Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy.

A quiet week for J-Novel Club. No debuts, but we get The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage’s Carefree Life in Another World 3, Moon Blossom Asura: The Ruthless Reincarnated Mercenary Forms the Ultimate Army 3, Through the Viewport: Child of a Ruined World 2, The Unwanted Undead Adventurer 13, Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord 6, and You Were Experienced, I Was Not: Our Dating Story 4.

No debuts for Kodansha Manga either, but we get As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World 11, A Condition Called Love 9, Fire Force Omnibus 11, The Great Cleric 10, I See Your Face, Turned Away 2, ORIGIN 5, Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 5, and Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen 4.

MICHELLE: A couple of nice shoujo titles in there!

ANNA: I keep meaning to check out Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen!

ASH: I’ve been collecting them! (But still need to read them…)

SEAN: And for digital, we see How to Treat a Lady Knight Right 6, Our Bodies, Entwining, Entwined 8 (the final volume), Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence 13, and Saving Sweets for After-Hours 4.

Seven Seas has a danmei novel debut: Peerless. It’s set in the universe of Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu, and has two rival cops fight to solve a case and get over their sexual tension.

MICHELLE: This sounds fun.

ANNA: What if the case just increases the sexual tension??????? What will they do?????

ASH: You’ll never guess!

SEAN: Noss and Zakuro is a comedy that runs in East Press’ Matogrosso. It’s a comedy about a vampire mom and her vampire daughter.

Seven Seas also has The Summer You Were There 5, The Titan’s Bride 4, and Yakuza Reincarnation 6.

Steamship debuts I’ll Never Be Your Crown Princess! – Betrothed (Outaishi-hi ni Nante Naritakunai!! Konyakusha-hen), a sequel to the first book which runs in Comic Zero-Sum. It basically sounds like a continuation.

Also from Steamship: Healer for the Shadow Hero 2 and Sundome!! Milky Way 10 (the final volume>.

Tokyopop has A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation 8.

Yen On has the 7th volume of Sasaki and Peeps.

Meanwhile, Yen Press’ July was so huge that half the titles got bumped a week. There are no debuts, but we get (deep breath) 15 Minutes Before We Really Date 3, Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 4, Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 8, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 6, I Want a Gal Gamer to Praise Me 2, In Another World with My Smartphone 12, Kiss the Scars of the Girls 3 (the final volume), Konosuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! 17, Minato’s Laundromat 3, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AO— 5 (a JNC print title), The Reformation of the World as Overseen by a Realist Demon King 4, The Saga of Tanya the Evil 23, Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer! 4, Shy 7, Sword Art Online Progressive Canon of the Golden Rule 2 (the final volume), To Save the World, Can You Wake Up the Morning After with a Demi-Human? 7, Touge Oni: Primal Gods in Ancient Times 4, Trinity Seven Revision 2, The Vampire and His Pleasant Companions 5, and When I Became a Commoner, They Broke Off Our Engagement! 3.

ASH: Dang! At some point every week is going to be a Yen week.

SEAN: Assuming you’re still reading after that block of text, what are you getting?

Pick of the Week: Searching, Destroying, and Cross-Dressing

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SEAN: It’s always hard to avoid picking the Fantagraphics title when it comes out, mostly as it only comes out about once a year. But this one, combining Tezuka with the author of Bambi and Her Pink Gun, would likely have been my pick regardless. This week is Search and Destroy week.

MICHELLE: Sometimes I just want fluffy, slashy hijinks and I think From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! fits that bill quite well.

ASH: That does sound like it could be fun, but I fall into Sean’s camp this week. Dororo is my favorite Tezuka manga, so I’ve been looking forward to Kaneko Atsushi’s contemporary reimagining Search and Destroy ever since the license was announced.

ANNA: I’m with Michelle this week, From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! sounds fun.

Manga the Week of 7/24/24

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SEAN: It’s still July, and still hot, but don’t worry, you can relax in the shadow of Yen Press releases.

ASH: That could possibly work.

SEAN: There is one debut this week for Yen On: The Trials of Chiyodaku: Running the Supreme Court of Another World With My Sister (Chiyodaku Ōkoku Judgment: Ane to Ore to de Isekai Saikō Saibansho). A guy and his sister end up in another world. She’s fantastic at law but knows nothing of fantasy worlds or monsters. He’s a gamer who knows all about those things. Together, they fight crime and the cover art. (The cover art wins, sadly.)

ASH: Wow. The law angle is at least vaguely intriguing, but, wow.

SEAN: And there’s also a side story from a popular franchise. Bungo Stray Dogs: Another Story: Yukito Ayatsuji vs. Natsuhiko Kyougoku features, well, those two characters, I guess.

Also from Yen On: Agents of the Four Seasons 3, Associate Professor Akira Takatsuki’s Conjecture 4, Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense 13, Bride of the Barrier Master 3, Classroom for Heroes 2, The Contract Between a Specter and a Servant 2, The Detective Is Already Dead 8, The Eminence in Shadow 5, The Executioner and Her Way of Life 8, The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (Hey, How About Treason?) 12, Ishura 7, The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady 7, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 13, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- 25, and Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town 15 (the final volume).

ASH: You did warn it was a Yen week, but that’s still quite the list.

SEAN: And then there’s Yen Press debuts. Aria of the Beech Forest (Buna no Mori no Aria) is a shoujo series from Asuka. It’s about a witch who lives in the woods and a talking wolf she finds one day.

ASH: Witch manga seems to be a particularly popular (or at least common) genre these days.

SEAN: Excellent Property, Rejects for Residents: Baths, Lavatories, and Angels Are Communal (Yuuryou Bukken Mou Dame Sou – Furo, Toilet to Tenshi wa Kyoudou desu) is the latest ecchi shonen manga from the creator of Plunderer and Heaven’s Lost Property. An angel tries to help a loser guy who lives in an apartment house full of losers.

GOGOGOGO-GO-GHOST! is a josei title from Comic Bridge. After being fired from her OL job, a woman is living on temp gigs and desperation. Is she desperate enough to team up with a ghost lady?

MICHELLE: Hm. Josei + ghosts?

ASH: I’m in.

SEAN: Kind of a Wolf (Aimai na Wolf) is a one-shot BL manga from Bloom. When his pet cat sneaks into the apartment of the noisy guy next door, our hero has to sneak in after them… and discovers a secret!

ASH: What could it be?

SEAN: Miss Savage Fang: The Strongest Mercenary in History Is Reincarnated as an Unstoppable Noblewoman (Savage Fang Ojou-sama – Shijou Saikyou no Youhei wa Shijou Saikyou no Bougyaku Reijou to natte Futatabime no Sekai wo Musou suru) is an adaptation of the light novels Yen also releases. It ran in Isekai Young Jump.

My Oh My, Atami-kun (Iyahaya Atami-kun) is a BL manga from Harta. A high school boy is constantly being asked out by girls because of his handsome face. Can’t they realize that he’s gay?

MICHELLE: This looks potentially cute.

SEAN: This Wolf Is Not Scary (Ookami-kun wa Kowakunai) is a BL one-shot from B’s-Lovey Recottia. Wolf boys, rabbit boys, heats… not full on A/B/O, but in the ballpark. Also, two wolf oneshots in the same week?

MICHELLE: Any BL with a wolf in it, nowadays, I basically assume is not gonna be my sort of thing.

SEAN: And also from Yen: The Abandoned Empress 8, Bungou Stray Dogs Wan 8, Chained Soldier 8, Delicious in Dungeon 14 (the final volume), The Eminence in Shadow 10, Game of Familia 4, Honey Lemon Soda 6, I’m Quitting Heroing 6, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 13, My Poison Princess Is Still Cute 3 (the final volume), No Longer Heroine 7, The Princess of Convenient Plot Devices 5, Reign of the Seven Spellblades 7, A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special 4, and Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion 7.

Viz has one debut, another collection of horror, Alley: Junji Ito Story Collection (Rojiura). These ran in Monthly Halloween.

ASH: I’m behind in my Junji Ito reading, but do plan on picking this up.

SEAN: They also have Boy’s Abyss 6, a re-release of the GoGo Monster box, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part 6–Stone Ocean 5.

ASH: Oh!

SEAN: Two debuts from Tokyopop. Jealousy Blinds Love (Shitto wa ai o Kumoraseru) is a one-shot from from RED. Can BL and piano exist together?

Too Close to Fall in Love (Koi o Suru ni wa Chika Sugiru) is also a from RED oneshot. What about a “we’re stepsiblings!” romance, but BL?

And they have Lullaby of the Dawn 4 (which is also from RED, in case you were worried).

Steamship has a 3rd manga volume of The Villainess and the Demon Knight.

Square Enix manga debuts Soul Eater NOT!: The Perfect Edition. This spinoff of Soul Eater was far less popular but had far more yuri subtext. It ran in Shonen Gangan.

And they’ve also got The Villainess’s Guide to (Not) Falling in Love 2.

No debuts from Seven Seas, but we do see COLORLESS 7 (the final volume), The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain 2, Ennead 3 (which comes in teen-rated paperback and adult-rated hardcover), His Majesty the Demon King’s Housekeeper 6, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 9, and Magical Angel Creamy Mami and the Spoiled Princess 7 (the final volume).

From KUMA we see Qualia Under the Snow (Yuki no Shita no Qualia), a oneshot BL manga from Craft. An extrovert and an introvert find themselves drawn together to help deal with their pasts.

MICHELLE: I’m definitely more interested in traumatized extroverts and introverts than wolves and stepsiblings!

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Kodansha Books has a 5th volume of Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for my Retirement.

No print debuts for Kodansha Manga, but we do see Blue Lock 13, Gachiakuta 3, The Heroic Legend of Arslan 19, I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl 3, King in Limbo Omnibus 3 (the final volume), Sailor Moon Naoko Takeuchi Collection 9, and A Sign of Affection 9.

There is a digital debut, just announced at AX. My Journey to Her (Boku ga Watashi ni Naru Tame ni) is a complete in one volume series that ran in Weekly Morning. It’s a memoir of Yuna receiving a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, and the journey to getting gender-affirming surgery that Yuna, with her family and friends, goes through.

ASH: It’s really interesting to me how many memoirs and autobiographical works of this type were seeing translated. Not that I’m complaining!

Also digital: Am I Actually the Strongest? 11, A Couple of Cuckoos 18, DAYS 42 (the final volume), Gamaran: Shura 22, and Teppu 8 (the final volume).

MICHELLE: Ah! I hadn’t realized DAYS was ending. Time for a marathon.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has a lot, including three debuts. The 100th Time’s the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Did She Unlock “Super Love” Mode?! (99-kai Danzaisareta Loop Reijō Desu ga Konse wa “Chōzetsu Aisare Mode” Desutte!?: Shinno Chikara ni Mezamete Hajimaru 100-kaime no Jinsei), the manga adaptation of the light novel JNC already released.that runs in Drecomics.

From Two-Bit Baddie to Total Heartthrob: This Villainess Will Cross-Dress to Impress! (Mob Dōzen no Akuyaku Reijō wa Dansō Shite Kōryaku Taishō no Za wo Nerau) is a light novel about a girl reincarnated in an otome game as… a minor villainess. She decides to seduce the main character by dressing as a man. Unfortunately, everyone else has the same idea. This is infamous in Japan for its art that commits to the bit – the art makes it look BL as the cross-dressing women are so good at it.

MICHELLE: This sounds kooky but potentially fun.

ASH: Agreed!

SEAN: The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World (Saikyou Onmyouji no Isekai Tenseiki ~Geboku no Youkaidomo ni Kurabete Monster ga Yowaisugirundaga~) is the manga adaptation of the light novel JNC is also releasing. It runs in Gaugau Monster.

Also from J-Novel Club: the 3rd D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared manga, The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects 4, the 8th Isekai Tensei: Recruited to Another World manga, My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex 11, Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden 3, The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power: Forget My Sister! Turns Out I Was the Real Saint All Along! 3, The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival 2, the 10th Record of Wortenia War manga, Seventh 8, The Troubles of Miss Nicola the Exorcist 3 (the final volume), The Water Magician 2, and Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster 7.

ASH: That is a decent sized list, too.

Ghost Ship has Ayakashi Triangle 10. There’s also, in Mature titles from Seven Seas, Remnants of Filth: Yuwu 4.

A new title from Fantagraphics: Search and Destroy. Have you ever wondered what the classic Tezuka series Dororo would look like in the hands of the author of Bambi and Her Pink Gun? Wonder no more. This ran in TezuComi, a magazine devoted to Tezuka tributes, reimaginings, etc.

ASH: Really looking forward to this one.

SEAN: Lastly, we have Airship. In print they have Riku Can’t Be a Goddess (Riku-kun wa, Megami ni Narenai). The story of a girl who serves as a dress form for her crush who wants to cross-dress and uses her to see how to be feminine. Then he kisses her and she flees. This apparently is part of an anthology about their high school class and identity in general.

And for early digital we get the 2nd and final volume of The Evil Queen’s Beautiful Principles and Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō 6.

I’m reduced to begging for mercy. How about you?

Pick of the Week: Secret Bases and Mona Lisas

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MICHELLE: Well, if I can’t have more Mitsuru Adachi, I can an at least be happy that my favorite sports manga, Haikyu!, is being released in a 3-in-1 format!

ASH: There are definitely some solid choices among this week’s releases, but the one I’m probably most looking forward to is Captain Momo’s Secret Base. I actually don’t know much at all about what it’s about, but I do know it’s by Kenji Tsuruta and that’s enough for me.

ANNA: I’m with Ash, Captain Momo’s Secret Base sounds interesting.

SEAN: It feels odd to have me pick the gender title, but I admit that the premise of Just Like Mona Lisa intrigues me, and I’ll be checking it out. So I’ll make that the pick.

Manga the Week of 7/17/24

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SEAN: All English manga will be in French for this week only. After that, your copies will return to English.

MICHELLE: Does that mean that manga I own in French will be in English this week? *hurries off to read some Mitsuru Adachi*

ANNA: Sacre bleu!

ASH: Ah, if only!

SEAN: We start with Airship. In print, they give us The Case Files of Jeweler Richard 8 and Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 9.

The digital early debut is Ripping Someone Open Only Makes Them Bleed (Hara o Wattara Chi ga Deru Dakesa), 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: I’ll admit to being curious.

SEAN: Also out in early digital: I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! 7 and The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior 7.

Apologies to Dark Horse, I was distracted by the Lovecraft and missed that the 5th Cat + Gamer manga came out this week.

ASH: It was pretty distracting. But Cat + Gamer is definitely worth mentioning, too.

SEAN: Next week they have a debut: Captain Momo’s Secret Base (Momo Kanchou no Himitsu Kichi), a Rakuen Le Paradis story about a starship captain dealing with remote work and bureaucracy. It’s from the creator of Wandering Island and Emanon.

ANNA: Ca peut être intéressant.

ASH: Oooooooh.

SEAN: Denpa, according to retailers, has the 2nd volume of Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack.

ANNA: Char Aznable est très cool.

ASH: Oui.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has the 8th volume of The Witches of Adamas.

J-Novel Club also snuck out a release this week, so you should be able to get the 4th Blade & Bastard light novel as you read this. To be fair to me, this wasn’t announced till about 5 days ago.

ASH: That is entirely fair (or unfair, depending on how you look at it).

SEAN: From J-Novel Club next week, we get the 4th 8th Loop for the Win! With Seven Lives’ Worth of XP and the Third Princess’s Appraisal Skill, My Behemoth and I Are Unstoppable! manga volume, The Conqueror from a Dying Kingdom 7, the 2nd Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade manga volume, Making Magic: The Sweet Life of a Witch Who Knows an Infinite MP Loophole 8, and the 2nd A Wild Last Boss Appeared! manga volume.

No debuts for Kodansha Manga, but we see in print I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness 6, Kei X Yaku: Bound By Law 2, Ninja Vs. Gokudo 2, Parasyte Full Color Collection 7, and When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 16.

And for digital we get Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 8, The Beast Player 3, Hozuki’s Coolheadedness 21, I Left my A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! 5, and Our Fake Marriage 14.

From One Peace Books we get Farming Life in Another World 10.

The debut from Seven Seas is a yuri manga, Throw Away the Suit Together (Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru) features two young women, bowed down by societal expectations, throwing it all away and moving to an island. Of course, life is not that easy…

ASH: If only it was!

SEAN: We also see The Duke of Death and His Maid 13, Mysterious Disappearances 2, No Longer Allowed In Another World 6, Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing 3, The Skull Dragon’s Precious Daughter 4, The Villainess Who Has Been Killed 108 Times: She Remembers Everything! 3, and The World’s Fastest Level Up 3.

We have a debut from Square Enix, Just Like Mona Lisa (Seibetsu “Mona Lisa” no Kimi e), from Gangan Online. In a world where people are genderless till they’re 12, and over 2 years become the gender they wish to be, our protagonist is 18 and yet still genderless. Will confessions – from a boy and a girl – help them decide?

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: And we see The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated! 9.

Tokyopop debuts both a light novel and a manga, the same title. My Beautiful Man (Utsukushii Kare) is a Chara title (the manga, at least) about a guy with a stutter who tends to be used by the popular group as a dogsbody… but that’s OK, because the most popular guy is SO HOT.

MICHELLE: Snerk.

ANNA: Snerk (en Francais!)

SEAN: Tokyopop also has the 7th and final volume of The Fox & Little Tanuki.

Debuting from Udon Entertainment is My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex (Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Moto Kanodatta), whose light novel J-Novel Club has been releasing. A boy and a girl who dated in middle school… then broke up badly… now find they’re stepsiblings. It runs in Dra-Dra-Sharp#.

Debuting from Viz is Battle Royale: Enforcers, the 3rd in the Battle Royale manga series, which runs in Bessatsu Young Champion. You know the plot.

We’re also getting Haikyu!! in 3-in-1 volumes, with the first shipping next week. This is a Shonen Jump title about volleyball. You know it.

MICHELLE: Omnibus editions are very nice for sports manga!

ANNA: Mais oui!

Also from Viz: Dandadan 8, Dark Gathering 8, Persona 5 12, Record of Ragnarok 11, Seraph of the End 30, Snowball Earth 2, Steel of the Celestial Shadows 3, and Undead Unluck 16.

ASH: I really ought to give Steel of the Celestial Shadows a try.

SEAN: Lastly we have Yen Press, who are sneaking two releases out ahead of the deluge the week after next. Penguin Highway is a manga adaptation of the novel of the same name, which ran in my nemesis, Comic Alive. Yen is releasing it as one complete omnibus.

ASH: Oh, I actually just saw an early copy of this! And I really enjoyed the original novel.

SEAN: And we get an artbook: Yana Toboso Artworks Black Butler 4.

Does anything here appeal?

Pick of the Week: Tarareba-Boom-de-Ay

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SEAN: I can’t pass up a Double Bookworm. This week I’ll pick the penultimate volume of Ascendance of a Bookworm as well as the 4th Fanbook.

MICHELLE: I adored the whimsy of Tokyo Tarareba Girls, so I am very much looking forward to Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2, even with a different cast!

ASH: As much as I enjoy Ascendance of a Bookworm, I’m absolutely with Michelle this week in picking Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2. I have yet to go wrong with Akiko Higashimura manga.

ANNA: I’m not going to go against this emerging swell of support for Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2.

Manga the Week of 7/10/24

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SEAN: This list is being written for you in the small, brief moments between terrible bouts of WEATHER.

ASH: I’ll take whatever relief I can get!

SEAN: As I mentioned last week, J-Novel Club has now moved all its print releases to be distributed by Yen Press. So Yen has Ascendance of a Bookworm 25, Full Metal Panic: Short Stories 2 and Otherside Picnic Omnibus 4 in print. For those who haven’t been following Otherside Picnic, this is the one that made Tumblr go absolutely batshit.

ASH: In a good way, bad way, or both?

SEAN: Viz Media has a debut, another Naruto manga adaptation of one of the light novels that came after the main manga series. If that makes sense. This is Naruto: Konoha’s Story—The Steam Ninja Scrolls: The Manga (Naruto: Konoha Shinden – Yukemuri Ninpouchou) and it ran in Shonen Jump +.

Also from Viz: Devil’s Candy 4, Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Manga – Book of Heartslabyul 4, Fly Me to the Moon 24, Helck 10, Kirby Manga Mania 7, Komi Can’t Communicate 30, and Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon 5.

ASH: I just recently got my hands on some more of Devil’s Candy.

SEAN: Tokyopop has If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die 7 and Watch Dogs Tokyo 2.

SuBLime debuts My Dearest Patrolman (Boku no Omawari-san), which runs in the magazine moment (with the small letter, apparently). Ex-cop who now runs a shop is beloved by his junior, who is still a cop. What happens when they get into a relationship?

They also have a 2nd volume of Engage.

From Square Enix we get Otherside Picnic 10 and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 19.

Seven Seas has one debut, Re-Living My Life with a Boyfriend Who Doesn’t Remember Me (Shi ni Modori no Mahou Gakkou Seikatsu wo, Moto Koibito to Prologue Kara (※Tadashi, Koukando wa Zero)), an adaptation of the light novel series released by Cross Infinite World. A girl and her beloved are killed, and she returns to her 7-year-old body with all her past memories… except how she was killed. Worse, the same thing did not happen to her boyfriend, and he thinks she’s a pain! This runs in Flos Comic.

ASH: To be fair, a lot of seven-year-olds can be a bit of a pain from time to time.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Bite Maker: The King’s Omega 11 (the final volume), Cinderella Closet 6, Daily Report About My Witch Senpai 3, Delinquent Daddy and Tender Teacher 4, MoMo -the blood taker- 9 (also a final volume), Soara and the House of Monsters 3, and Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 11.

And from their danmei line, we get Thousand Autumns: Qian Qiu 5, the final volume. It also has a special edition with postcards, stickers, etc.

ASH: Sweet.

SEAN: Kodansha Manga have a box set out next week, Hitorijime My Hero Manga Box Set 1, which has the first 6 volumes.

Also in print: The Darwin Incident 6, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 7 and Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie 17.

MICHELLE: I should check out In the Clear Moonlit Dusk at some point.

SEAN: Just announced at AX, digitally we get the debut of Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns 2, Vol. 1. (Not to be confused with Tokyo Tarareba Girls Returns, the one shot that came out here four years ago.) Same author, different characters, same premise. It ran in Kiss.

MICHELLE: !!!!!

ANNA: Woah!

ASH: Oh, very nice!

SEAN: Also digital: Because I, the True Saint, was Banished, that Country is Done For! 4, Drops of God: Mariage 7, Gang King 19, The God-Tier Guardian and the Love of Six Princesses 13, and MF Ghost 19.

Kaiten Books has a debut, in both print and digital. Blue Archive: Problem Solver 68 Business Diary (Blue Archive: Benriya 68 Gyoumu Nisshi) is a spinoff of the popular smartphone game, and it runs in Comic Bushiroad Web. It seems to be an “a day in the life” sort of title.

ASH: Huh!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has one debut. The Death of the Skeleton Swordsman: Dominating as a Cursed Saint (Kotsugai no Kensei ga Shi wo Togeru: Noroware Seija no Gakuin Musō) is a new light novel in the subgenre of “I’m a skeleton” titles. Though apparently this guy doesn’t stay a skeleton for long, but instead ends up at… sigh… a magical academy. Where he’s the strongest one of all. Yeah.

ANNA: Funny how that keeps happening.

ASH: Staying a skeleton would have made it more interesting, I think.

SEAN: We also see: Ascendance of a Bookworm 32, Ascendance of a Bookworm Fanbook 4, the 16th Black Summoner manga, I Surrendered My Sword for a New Life as a Mage 7, A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires 2, Magic Stone Gourmet: Eating Magical Power Made Me The Strongest 6, and Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire 11.

Ghost Ship has I’m Not a Succubus! 5 and Please Go Home, Miss Akutsu! 6.

Dark Horse Comics has a deluxe, hardcover, 630-page edition of its HP Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness manga, which they released normally in two volumes in 2019.

ASH: It is an excellent adaptation which should benefit nicely from the deluxe treatment.

SEAN: In print titles, Airship has Loner Life in Another World 9 and Reincarnated Into a Game as the Hero’s Friend: Running the Kingdom Behind the Scenes 2.

And for early digital we get Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 12 and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash 7.

So, what do you — oops, tornado warning and hurricane warning. Gotta go.

Pick of the Week: We’ve Got The Picks

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MICHELLE: I enjoyed the first volume of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate, so I’ll make the second volume my pick this week.

SEAN: I’ll pick Viz as well but for me it’s the new volume of Blue Box, a series I think works much better in volume format, so you can take a break from teens being teens every other month. Great sports/romance combo.

KATE: All the cool kids are reading Medalist (or so I hear), so I’m going to add that to my ever-growing list of Series I Want to Read, But Just Haven’t Found the Time to Do So.

ASH: I’ll probably wait until its print release to actually read it, but the debut I’m most curious about this week is actually Soup Forest: The Story of the Woman Who Speaks with Animals and the Former Mercenary. A wholesome woodland romance sounds really nice, actually, and there’s food, too!

ANNA: I’m all in for Like a Butterfly this week!

Manga the Week of 7/3/24

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SEAN: Is the year really half over? Years aren’t what they used to be.

ASH: They really aren’t.

SEAN: Airship has one print title, the 6th volume of Raven from the Inner Palace.

ASH: I really need to catch up on this series before I get any further behind.

SEAN: Debuting digitally – the same week as its anime adaptation – is Too Many Losing Heroines! (Make Heroine ga Oosugiru!), a romcom about (sigh) a plain, boring guy who suddenly finds that all the hot, popular girls in his class are confessing to the guys they like… and being shot down! What’s going on here?

Also in early digital: Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 9 and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 7.

Cross Infinite World debuts Soup Forest: The Story of the Woman Who Speaks with Animals and the Former Mercenary (Soup no Mori: Doubutsu to Kaiwa Suru Olivia to Moto Youhei Arthur no Monogatari). A woman who can hear the inner thoughts of humans and animals has spent her life either shunned or avoiding people, but then she meets a young man while working at her restaurant in the forest…

ASH: Okay, I’ll admit, that premise does check quite a few boxes for me, though not necessarily in a combination I was expecting.

ANNA: Does her forest restaurant also have jam? This is what I want to know.

SEAN: Cross Infinite World also have The Inconvenient Life of an Arousing Priestess 2 and Lovestruck Prince! I’ll Fight the Heroine for My Villainess Fiancée! 3 (the final volume).

Per retailers, Denpa Books has a 3rd volume of Baby Bear’s Bakery.

From Ghost Ship, we get Booty Royale: Never Go Down Without a Fight! 13-14 and Creature Girls: A Hands-On Field Journal in Another World 10.

J-Novel Club has one digital debut (actually, no more print for JNC, as they finished moving all their print titles over to Yen Press to distribute). To Another World… with Land Mines! (Isekai teni, Jirai-tsuki) is a manga adaptation of the light novel they’ve been releasing for a while, as a sensible guy gets isekai’d with his classmates, and tries to stop them accidentally being really stupid. It runs in Shonen Ace Plus.

ASH: Oh, I had missed that bit of news, though I’m glad the partnership with Yen Press is going well.

SEAN: Also from JNC, The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases 2, the 2nd manga volume of The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases, I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic 2, In Another World With My Smartphone 29, and When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace 11.

No debuts for Kodansha Manga, but we see, in print, A-DO 3, Anyway, I’m Falling in Love with You 3, Bless 2, A Brief Moment of Ichika 2, Medalist 3, Rent-A-Girlfriend 25 (it got bumped), and To Your Eternity 20.

And digitally we see Blue Lock 26, How to Grill Our Love 9, LIFE 16, Matcha Made in Heaven 9, Those Snow White Notes 19, and Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister 14.

One Peace Books has I Hear the Sunspot: Four Seasons 2.

MICHELLE: I really want to read this. Someday. Sigh.

ASH: I have been greatly enjoying I Hear the Sunspot.

ANNA: I need to get caught up too!

SEAN: No debuts for Seven Seas either, but we see Berserk of Gluttony 10, Dragon Goes House-Hunting 10 (the final volume), The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter 11, Homunculus 9-10 (also a final volume), Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 7, Modern Dungeon Capture Starting with Broken Skills 2, My New Life as a Cat 6, The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent: The Other Saint 4 (also also a final volume), and Servamp 20.

ASH: This would be a good time for me to actually give Homunculus a try, then.

SEAN: Square Enix has The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten 2 and Victoria’s Electric Coffin 2.

Viz Media continues the trend of no debuts. But we see Blue Box 11, Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Soulmate 2, Like a Butterfly 7, Marriage Toxin 3, Moriarty the Patriot 16, One Piece 106, Tamon’s B-Side 4, Wolf Girl and Black Prince 8, and World Trigger 26.

MICHELLE: I’m looking forward to more Soulmate (though perhaps I’m in the minority there) and eager to catch up on Tamon’s B-Side, as well.

ANNA: Oooh, more Like a Butterfly!!

SEAN: And that’s it! Has there been a shorter week lately? I don’t think so.