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Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 20

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By Fujino Omori and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka?” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

It’s been almost twelve years since the first volume of DanMachi came out in North America, and I think we can forgive the reader for forgetting the original premise of the series, as well as the reason for the title. Bell Cranel arrives in Orario to become an adventurer. He does this so that he can meet girls and get a harem. Now,, to be fair, this is mostly planted in him by his pervy grandfather, but still. Now, twenty volumes and unfathomable amounts of spinoffs later, Bell is an adventurer. He’s met plenty of girls. And, if you look at those girls, you know that he definitely has a harem. Even if he’s ignoring that fact. But this series has always been about getting Bell to see the bigger picture, and for this volume we get the biggest picture of all. Bell is needed because the heroes of old, the really strong ones, are all dead. And now there’s another world-shattering crisis, and they need not only Bell, but every other hero on deck.

Bell has returned from the School District, and he and his Familia are ready to go back into the dungeons… especially as they have a cute new intern, Nina. Who it turns out also has amazing healing capabilities – the one thing they’re short on for these long dungeon crawls. She’s perfect! Unfortunately, the shmuck who runs the guilds does something dumb again, and as a result the School District has pulled all its students back from internships and announced it’s cutting Orario off. This interests the Gods, who love giant messes, and so they make a deal to turn the whole fight between school and adventurers into a tournament arc, best of five, to see who wins. Meanwhile, Bell disguises himself as a student again and goes to talk with Leon… who turns out to be a Level 7 powerhouse, and probably the guy who’s going to be fighting Bell in the tournament. Welp.

Maybe it’s because it’s been two years since the last main volume of the series, but I liked this one a bit more. For those wondering how many volumes it would take for Syr to stop being every God’s punching bag and go back to flirting with Bell and teasing the others, the answer is “one” – she’s almost moved into Bell’s mansion. I do also like how, even though the romance is not really the focus of this series anymore, the author never lets it drop – Lyu has confessed, but knows what Bell’s answer will be, so begs him not to say anything. Nina and Eina realize they’re both in love with the same guy, and kind of bond over it. And above everyone is Aiz, who expresses affection to Bell through aggressive training, and gets very jealous when she hears Lyu has been training him as well. Resolve Bell and Aiz, and everyone else will come after it. Erm, assuming Aiz isn’t dead…

Yes, that’s right, cliffhanger! We don’t hear exactly what happened, but that’s what Sword Oratorio 15 is for, I’m guessing. Which is fortunately out in two months, rather than two years. Good stuff. Also, dragons! Wait, dragons are bad in this series…

Sasaki and Peeps: Assigned Overseas! Poached! Hired on the Spot! ~That Time the Corporate Drone Who Couldn’t Speak English Was Sent to a Foreign Country and Taken In by the Mafia~

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By Buncololi and Kantoku. Released in Japan as “Sasaki to Pi-chan” by Media Factory. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alice Prowse.

It’s always nice when Sasaki and Peeps hits the sweet spot of adding so many more genres you think your head is going to explode, but also tying everything back to what’s come before so that it doesn’t get too confusing. (However, the summary of what’s happened so far is VERY appreciated.) This time around the genre, at least for the first 2/3 or so, seems to be “Asian action movie”, with a side order of mafia in the mix. That said, you know what this series does. It adds underage girls (or women who look like underage girls) to Sasaki’s orbit, has then fall for him, and has him completely ignore that. And sure enough, we get another one here. The afterword tells me that this girl is a mesugaki, which I had to look up (and now you will too). That said, it sounds worse than it is, and this series continues to provide a lot of “lolicon” content without any actual worry. He’s just not that into them, no matter what his neighbor thinks or how many suggestive hot dogs are on the cover.

Our family would kind of like a break after the events of the last few books, but that’s not in the cards. The American soldiers they’ve met before essentially blackmail Japan into having the Sasaki Family come to America to deal with a threat. Once there, everyone but Sasaki is treated to a glorious, very expensive vacation. Huge planes, vast hotel rooms, casinos at Vegas, clearing out all of Walt Disney World except for them… (which backfires, as everyone agrees it’s too eerie). Meanwhile, Sasaki is asked to pose as a convicted felon and infiltrate a prison to find out about a Chinese mafia connection. This leads to all the cliches you could possibly imagine. Then, once he’s out, he goes back to Chinatown in New York and meets up with the aforementioned mesugaki and her bodyguard/minder. After saving her from thugs, he’s promptly hired as bodyguard #2. Does this have anything to do with why they were brought there?

This series has always had its narrator and sub-narrator for when Sasaki’s not around, and Kurosu, aka neighbor girl, gets a lot of it here, as he’s absent a good part of the book. She definitely has the funniest part of the book, as while the rest of the family is trying to deal with a terrorist threat (yes, the vacation eventually ends), she’s trying to figure out what Sasaki’s type is and why he seems closer to Futarishizuka than any of the other girls. As for the new girl, Yingling, as I said above, she turns out to be closer to what was happening in past books than we thought, and that also gives us a chance (in case you didn’t look at the top of the cover art) to bring in the pink magical girl, Sayoko. Whose living situation continues to be absolutely wretched, and I hope Sasaki can work out a way to get her defenses down and bring her into their family orbit. Even if that messes up Type Twelve’s cliche math.

Lots of action. Lots of hijinks. Lots of fun. Sadly, the family is now banned from Japan. And America. This may prove difficult whenever book 11 comes out here (seems to be about every 10 months or so). But I will wait patiently.

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten, Vol. 10

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By Saekisan and Hanekoto. Released in Japan as “Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsu no Ma ni ka Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Nicole Wilder.

By definition, this series is for readers who want to see cute sweet romance with little to no drama. No one is here to watch Amane and Miharu get into a big fight or temporarily break up. We want to see them be adorable and make sweets and give each other presents and maybe kiss and hug once or twice, because they’re definitely not doing much more than that. The trouble is that that can sometimes make for a very dull book. This is why we have supporting couples in the series. Unfortunately, aside from her muscle fetish, Ayaka is also relatively normal. That means we’re left with Itsuki’s family drama, which does indeed pop up again here, and also the comedy not-a-couple workplace duo of Miyamoto and Oohashi, who have the sort of relationship problem that you can only get when a couple are NOT together. That helps to make the book a bit more intriguing than usual.

Now that Mahiru’s birthday is done, it’s time for Christmas!… which both Amane and Mahiru have forgotten about due to all the birthday stuff. Fortunately, Christmas is a fairly easy event, they can spend it at Amane’s home eating fried chicken with Itsuki and Chitose, and give presents (well, he does. He tricked her into not returning it). And then there’s New Year’s, which is unfortunately interrupted by more Itsuki family drama. Amane’s father, however, stops by, and gives some very salient advice that amounts to “I get you were killing yourself with the honor student stress, but perhaps being a goofy slacker is what actually is upsetting your father”. Lastly, Valentine’s Day rolls around, and Amane is absolutely baffled to discover that girls might give him chocolates, even though he’s in a relationship. What has this world come to?

Leaving aside Amane’s mental issues, which are starting to almost overwhelm the series, I quite liked this. The most amusing part was the subplot with Miyamoto and Oohashi, which is very very good at implying but never outright saying “they got drunk and accidentally had sex”. The awkwardness that follows feels almost like justice given how annoying Oohashi has tended to get in previous books. I do hope they eventually figure it out. As for Itsuki, I do hope that he and Chitose can discover there’s a happy medium where you don’t have all the stress in the world but can still actually, y’know, become a productive member of society. But yeah, the bulk of this is Amane’s POV, and while I do like Amane and think he’s come a long way, he can be frustratingly obtuse just when you don’t need him to be. The idea that someone could have feelings for him despite his being in a relationship is just so foreign to him. I feel bad for the girl who confessed, and hope she gets some closure out of it.

In the next book, we’ll probably get White Day, which is how these romances go. Good stuff, probably better in print than animated.

Manga the Week of 8/19/26

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SEAN: This is the week of Anime NYC, will any of you be buying manga there?

ASH: Alas, not I.

SEAN: Airship’s print debut is Saving a Weapon Shop from Bankruptcy after the Demon King’s Defeat (Maou Botsugo no Genkai Bukiya). After the defeat of the demon king, no monsters and no need for weapons means blacksmiths and adventurers are headed for poverty and slavery. Can our hero change that?

ASH: One does hold out hope.

ANNA: The economy is rough!

SEAN: Also in print: There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… 8 and Too Many Losing Heroines! 8.

In early digital we have Loner Life in Another World 15, Reborn as a Space Mercenary: I Woke Up Piloting the Strongest Starship! 16, and Though I Am an Inept Villainess: Tale of the Butterfly-Rat Body Swap in the Maiden Court 11.

Alien Books has the 3rd and final volume of Kinryo Rock – Code Amrita.

ASH: I’d forgotten about Alien Books! So many small manga publishers these days; I love it.

SEAN: Dark Horse Manga has Cat + Crazy 4 and The Art of Star Wars: A New Hope–The Manga 2.

Ghost Ship gives us 2.5 Dimensional Seduction 19 and Into the Deepest, Most Unknowable Dungeon 14.

Inklore has My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 7.

Ize Press has Beware the Villainess! 8, I Love Amy 3, Kill the Villainess 7, Lady Devil 6, My Secretly Hot Husband 6, Overgeared 11, Revenge of the Baskerville Bloodhound 3, See You in My 19th Life 11, and Villains Are Destined to Die 9.

J-Novel Club is still in a debut desert. For ongoing light novels, we see The Misfit of Demon King Academy 12 Part 2, Miss Medic’s Diary at War 2, The Path of an S-Rank Adventurer: From Deadweight to Weapon Master 2, Repeated Vice: I Refuse to Be Important Enough to Die 4, Sister Mafioso 2, and Tearmoon Empire 17.

ASH: With as many titles as J-Novel releases, it’s probably not a bad idea to pace the debuts.

SEAN: And for ongoing manga, there is The Fearsome Witch Teaches in Another World: Ms. Aoi’s Lesson Plans 4, Jeanette the Genius: Defying My Evil Stepmother by Starting a Business with My Ride-or-Die Fiancé! 4, My Tiny Senpai 6, and Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 13.

Kodansha has no debuts, but in print we see Blue Lock 33, Cat-Life Balance 2, Grand Blue Dreaming 24, Hitting Rewind with You 4, Kirio Fan Club 3, Love, That’s an Understatement 6, MF Ghost 5, and Rent-A-Girlfriend 38.

MICHELLE: I should really read more of Love, That’s an Understatement.

SEAN: And digitally we get My Home Hero 26 (the final volume) and Quality Assurance in Another World 17.

Seven Seas has two debuts. The Death Defying Princess Creates a Yuri Harem to Survive (Shi ni Modori Oujo wa Ikinobiru Tame ni Yuri Harem wo Tsukuru Koto ni Shita) is a yuri manga from Wild Hero’s. A bratty princess dies, then goes back in time… and dies again. And again. She keeps trying different things, including being a better person, but… death. Is seducing every woman in the series the answer?

ASH: It’s worth a try, I guess!

ANNA: I guess one does what one must!

SEAN: The other debut is a 2-volume omnibus, Puniru is a Kawaii Slime (Puniru wa Kawaii Slime), a kids’ manga from Weekly Corocoro Comic. It has an anime. A boy has a slime transform into a girl. Boy, she gets into wacky misadventures!

ASH: It’s good to see more kids’ manga being released.

ANNA: Indeed!

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon 12, Dear Sister, I’ve Become a Blessed Maiden 2, DOGGO 2, The Fed-Up Office Lady Wants to Serve the Villainess 4, Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! 11, Let’s Buy the Land and Cultivate It in a Different World 10, My Bias is Showing?! 3 (the final volume), Our Sunny Days 2, Tonight, I Have a Date with a Serial Killer 2, The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom 7, Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! 14, The Valiant Must Fall 7, and Yonoi Tsukihiko’s Happy Hell 6.

Square Enix Manga has Tokyo Aliens 11 and Wash It All Away 9.

Steamship gives us Don’t Hold Back, Lord Hades 4 (the final volume) and A Suitable Fetish 7.

Udon Entertainment has, according to retailers, My Stepmom’s Daughter is My Ex (manga) 3.

Viz Media debuts what I am calling now will definitely be Manga Bookshelf’s Pick of the Week. Half Is More (Hanbun Kyoudai) runs in Torch. Our heroine and her brother were born and raised in Japan, and their mother is Japanese, but their father is Black French, so there’s a loooooot of prejudice. This comes highly recommended by folks I know.

MICHELLE: I suspect you are right about the pick of the week.

ASH: You know us so well!

ANNA: I mean it does sound good!

SEAN: Also from Viz: Assassin’s Creed: Forgotten Temple 4, Centuria 3, Dogsred 4, Hunter x Hunter 3-in-1 7, Kingdom 10, Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. 14, Mission: Yozakura Family 24, Sakamoto Holidays 2, Show-ha Shoten! 11 (the final volume), Skip Beat! 3-in-1 17, Snowball Earth 9, Undead Unluck 26, and Vagabond Definitive Edition 6.

ASH: That’s an excellent week from Viz, right there!

Lotsa stuff there! What are you picking up?

Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside, Vol. 15

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By Zappon and Yasumo. Released in Japan as “Shin no Nakama ja Nai to Yuusha no Party wo Oidasaretanode, Henkyou de Slow Life Surukoto ni Shimashita” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Dale DeLucia.

With one exception, which I’ll get to further down the page, this was a pretty good final volume to the series. It wraps up all the things you were expecting, and all the things you realize you’d never thought of but probably should have. Red and Rit are cute, Red gets to do some cool things, Ruti and Tisse are cute, Ruti gets to do some cool things, and Mister Crawly Wawly is the best. OK, I kind of wanted Ruti and Tisse to become a real couple rather than just “I can see it if I really want to”, but at least there aren’t any last minute love interests. A lot of this book is about parents and their children, so it makes sense that it ends that way, with Red and Rit having a son, who is on the cover, and in the book. For about 3 pages at the end.

Summertime, and the living is easy. If a bit dull. Peace means there’s not as much medicine being sold, and Red and Rit experiment with potion making. Then they hear Yaralandra is leaving to go exploring (and, given her lifespan, won’t be back for about a decade), and Tisse is returning to her guild to finally give her report on the job she took in Book 1. So they decide now is the time to take their long-awaited honeymoon. They go and visit Red and Ruti’s parents, which is a bit awkward but far more loving than I was expecting. They then go and visit Rit’s father, so that she can renounce her claim to the throne, which leads to a lot more political wrangling than she would have liked. Finally, they return home and delight in the news that she is pregnant. All is well… unless the author decides to throw in some last minute drama.

No spoilers guessing what I didn’t like. The entire ending with Rit slowly dying and Red having to find the right medicine reeked of “I want to end this with a bang”. The author has struggled with the slow life part of their slow life series since the start, and still can’t hack it. On the bright side, I’ve made no secret about my favorite characters in the series, and they’re both great here. Mister Crawly Wawly remains, to the end, one of the best non-speaking monster characters in any light novel, and I hope the restaurant goes well. Tisse may be described occasionally as being emotionless due to her training, but there are several moments here where she’s overcome with happiness, and the artist clearly loves to draw her grinning. I hope she finally confesses now that Ruti has gotten over her brother.

This was one of the first “banished from the hero’s party” books to come out here, and it’s still one of the better ones. I enjoyed it very much, despite its struggles with its genre.

An Introvert’s Hookup Hiccups: This Gyaru Is Head Over Heels for Me!, Vol. 13

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By Yuishi and Kagachisaku. Released in Japan as “Inkya no Boku ni Batsu Game de Kokuhaku Shitekita Hazu no Gal ga, Dō Mitemo Boku ni Beta Bore Des” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Satoko Kakihara.

This is not exactly a series that moves at the speed of light. As Yoshin says in this book, they haven’t even gotten to their first anniversary yet. Thee reason that it feels like it’s been forever is that by now Yoshin and Nanami are essentially married in all but legal name, and the only reason that they haven’t gone further than kissing is Yoshin’s iron will… well, no, because the two of them are massive cowards, that becomes apparent near the end here. But we are actually headed into final exams, which means senior year will soon be upon them. This is not an issue for Nanami, who has terrific grades and a career she’s striving for. Yoshin, though, has only just woken up to the fact that he now has a girlfriend, as well as actual other friends (something he literally has to be told here). Not a surprise his future is hazy.

The last few volumes have consistently hit holidays, and this one does as well, Valentine’s Day is coming up. For Yoshin this has always been just another day, one he can safely ignore. Nanami is somewhat horrified to hear that he hasn’t even gotten obligation chocolate from classmates, but is also kind of delighted as she gets another of his firsts. Meanwhile, his friend Hitoshi, who we saw on the class trip getting along with a Hawaiian girl, went back there with his parents and they got on even better. To the point where she’s coming there for a trip. And since she’s American, they researched American Valentine’s, meaning Yoshin now also has to come up with a Valentine gift. And they also want the day off to be romantic. Which means, before that, ALL THE WORK HOURS. Fortunately, Nanami is now working at the same restaurant as Yoshin does, because this series is comfy as hell.

Yoshin’s self-reflective monologue about how he’s not remotely the protagonist of a story, with Nanami trying hard to convince him this isn’t the case, is probably not as cute as the author thinks it is, but it does give a nice view into the mind of Yoshin, who may have had a hot loving girlfriend for almost a year, but still tends to get into the “woe is me, why do I suck so much?” mindset at the drop of a hat. This is probably the main reason why he and Nanami still aren’t going further, despite the fact that even her grandparents are kind of hinting that the two of them should bonk, and their parents leaving several convenient times when no one is in the house. But no, nothing happens beyond a few really heavy french kisses. This despite Nanami really trying hard, with senpai/kohai roleplay, maid cosplay, more maid cosplay, still MORE maid cosplay, and “won’t you lick the chocolate off my body?” play. Which, as I said, goes nowhere, alas.

The next volume came out in Japan about a week and a half ago, and no doubt deals with White Day. We will be waiting. A bit frustrated, but waiting.

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone, Vol. 10

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By Shigeru Sagazaki and Tetsuhiro Nabeshima. Released in Japan as “Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru: Tada no Inaka no Kenjutsu Shihan Datta noni, Taisei Shita Deshitachi ga Ore o Hōttekurenai Ken” by SQEX Novels. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hikoki.

This series has always been pretty light on the harem aspect. There are several girls, they kind of like our lead, he’s been told to find a wife. But honestly, right now no one is “main girl” and nothing is happening at all. This book in particular is uninterested in the question. possibly as the “main girl” of this book, if there is one, is Mewi, who definitely fills the “daughter” role more than a romantic interest. But, as the cover art indicates, the real star of this volume is Bel himself. He still is very bad at self-confidence, at seeing himself as anything but just some average guy with a sword. Which is unfortunate, as sometimes when you continue to improve, to get to the next level, you need to know that you can take on the best of the best and still triumph. And Bel has leveled up.

While cooking with Mewi, Bel cuts himself with a kitchen knife. He regards this as something that could happen to everyone, but those around him are startled. Then, at the training hall, he spars with Vesper, the guy who was nearly but not entirely killed a number of volumes ago, and is now well enough to start light training again. While fighting him, Bel notices that his eyes can see the future of what Vesper is about to do… and Bel is so flummoxed by this he loses. This *really* startles everyone. Now Bel has to worry: is this all a part of his getting old and starting to lose his edge? Or has he genuinely unlocked some instinctual skill? He’d better figure things out quickly, unfortunately; Mewi went out with friends one day and never came home.

I admit when I got to that plotline I was wondering if the answer would be “whoops, Mewi was doing something entirely innocent and it’s all a misunderstanding”. But no, Mewi is essentially going through the exact same thing Bel is, only he has decades more experience than she does and knows his own limitations (in fact, one might argue he exaggerates his own limitations). Mewi, on the other hand, is learning fast and getting stronger, to the point where she thinks she can take out some random kidnappers with the help of her friends… only to find they’re not just random thugs after all, and she really is still a kid who is learning. I am… grumpy about Bel slapping Mewi after she’s rescued, but I’ll gloss over it. As for Bel’s future vision, I’m pleased to see it has very definite limits, but it does also allow him to stay ahead of his young students for now… which means, of course, he will still think of them as students. Which ties back to the start. No wife for you.

The anime’s second season is going on, and it does a pretty good job. For those who want to read about a far too modest guy and his amazing sword skills, this is top tier.

Bookshelf Briefs 8/10/26

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Colette Decides to Die, Vol. 7 | By Alto Yukimura | Viz Media – Colette and Hades may be together now (and it’s implied more happens by the end of this omnibus), but that doesn’t mean much has really changed. Most of these two volumes involve meeting more gods. Ares is a young hothead obsessed with challenging Athena to contests… which he always loses. He’s also rather forthright and honest, which may be one reason why. As for Athena, well, her servants certainly love shipping her with other women. The second half of this omnibus shows us Cronus, Hades’ father who is now a rather sulky baby, but also introduces a more serious issue: Hades’ mirror that can tell if someone is lying is shattered, and they may not be able to fix it. Will Hades need to rely on intuition and observation to make sure the right people go to hell? I love this. – Sean Gaffney

In/Spectre, Vol. 21 | By Kyo Shirodaira and Chashiba Katase | Kodansha Manga – Sometimes the best, most likely solution to a mystery is not the one that anyone involved wants to hear. This is especially true when it’s Kotoko doing the sleuthing. Here she proposes a decent enough solution that will allow them to try to get the matriarch of the family to remove her veil… then comes up with a more likely answer that will force the family to lift lids off cans of worms they don’t want to. But on the bright side, it will get that veil off. And there is the (supposedly) final appearance of Mecha-Kotoko, which is designed to take Kotoko herself down a peg and is thus very welcome. This one has a lot less of Kotoko being terrible, so it’s not as good as previous volumes, but I’m still enjoying it a great deal. – Sean Gaffney

Medalist, Vol. 14 | By Tsurumaikada | Kodansha Manga – If the last volume was about Inori having her worst day ever as a figure skater, this volume is about her comeback, and the back half is here to show off her awesomeness. That said, the manga tries not to ignore the other skaters that are also competing, and everyone gets a chance to show off some fantastic moves, technique, speed, et cetera, and the author gets to show off amazing drawing skills. We also get someone who is clearly being set up to be the next major antagonist in the series: Dahlia, the other Japanese competitor in this event. She thinks Inori is “a bit TOO innocent.” Unfortunately, we’re not able to see what Dahlia does until volume fifteen, so we must wait. This remains one of the best manga out there, always spellbinding. – Sean Gaffney

The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Seen, Vol. 1 | By mmk | Viz Media – This is a fairly standard high school romcom with a good gimmick: the guy is handsome but is also a “typical guy,” i.e. he hasn’t remembered the name of the girl who’s sat next to him the whole year, just that she has large breasts. But when he tries another crass remark that he insists is a compliment, she talks about the fact that she can almost see his nipples… and he freaks. Yup, he can dish it out but can’t take it. The rest of the volume has variations on that theme, with the two of them also gradually getting to know each other and developing actual feelings beyond “you are sexually attractive to me.” She’s a little weird. He’s a little annoying. They’re perfect for each other, really. This is cute, but full of sexual leering—on purpose. – Sean Gaffney

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, Vol. 18 | By Rikito Nakamura and Yukiko Nozawa | Ghost Ship – New volume, new girlfriend. Saiki is a brilliant idol singer, but she longs to be an eccentric brilliant idol singer, emphasis on the eccentric, so keeps trying to do weird things. Naturally, she rejects Rentaro’s confession as too normal for her… until she finds out about his other girlfriends. The other major plotline sees the return of the Rentaro Family idol group… only because he’s got so many new girlfriends, the new girls are the ones who take it on. And, naturally, some girls are really good at idoling, and some… are not. Needless to say, this series remains very heartwarming and (in this volume) only slightly horny. No worries, the horny will return. – Sean Gaffney

Our Dining Table: Seconds, Please!, Vol. 2 | By Mita Ori | Seven Seas – I continue to enjoy this gentle, slice-of-life story, largely because it’s not just about Minoru and Yutaka as a couple, but is equally about Minoru’s relationship with his little brother, Tane. Early in the volume, Minoru and Yutaka put off moving in together because Tane’s just not ready to be without his big brother yet. However, as time goes on, Minoru graduates college and is set to embark on a training course at the same time as Tane is about to begin elementary school. By then, Tane has grown up enough to be more worried about Minoru being all alone than about himself. It’s really sweet, and more than once Tane made me think of Yotsuba. Have I made it clear how much Tane is the true star of this series? Because he totally is (though I do like Minoru and Yutaka, too, of course). – Michelle Smith

Stella Must Die, Vol. 1 | By Yasunori Mitsunaga | Kodansha Manga – Well, this was really, really weird. Take a standard “otome heroine is in danger” situation, and cross it with… Parasyte… and you have this. A king has died and now there’s a throne war. The older siblings need the young princess dead. They try poison. They try assassins. They try summoning demons. But the “shit worm” living inside her intestines, who is a reincarnated Japanese guy, keeps protecting her. The first volume is a combination of setup that I’m sure will pay off later and some truly grotesque situations, though fortunately by the end of the book Stella is aware of what’s going on, rather than just an unconscious prisoner in her own body. I’m not sure I’ll keep going, but this is definitely unique. – Sean Gaffney

Pick of the Week: Chiisakobee, As You Can See

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SEAN: I have often found that when the first volume of a manga has the two main characters just standing straight and staring at the reader with a blank face, it’s inevitably really good. Hence, my pick this week is for Chiisakobee, which has exactly that.

KATE: Make mine Chiisakobee, too. Something about that cover really speaks to me!

ASH: That cover really is great. So count me in for Chiisakobee, too! (Although I’ll also probably be taking a closer look at Ask Iwata when I have a chance.)

MICHELLE: Sure. I don’t have any better ideas, really.

ANNA: I guess I’m gonna go with the consensus this week!!

The Isle of Paramounts: Reborn into a Slow Life Among the Strongest in the World, Vol. 4

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By Heiseiowari and Noy. Released in Japan as “Tenseishitara Saikyou Shu-tachi ga Sumau Shima deshita. Kono Shima de Slow Life wo Tanoshimimasu” by SQEX Novel. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Alex Castor.

I was talking online about how comfy and relaxing I found this series, and someone pointed out some quotes I made while reading the first book that talked about how tired and cliched it was. And of course both things are correct. There’s nothing here that’s going to make you say “wow, that’s something I’ve never seen before” or “didn’t expect them to react like that!”. But it’s like a nice meat and potato stew in the middle of winter. There’s meat. There’s potatoes. There’s carrots. And that’s about it. You don’t really want much else. We’ve got lots of Arata and Reina being married in all but name but still too shy to do anything about it. They’re raising their adopted daughter, adopted niece, and girl who’s still a bit too loli to get into the harem sweepstakes but she’s working on it. And, of course, we have today’s cover star, the blonde vampire who is hundreds of years old. She’s exactly what you think as well. Thank goodness.

It is pointed out to Arata that while he visited the dragonfolk village, he hasn’t yet visited the ogrefolk village, so he and the rest of his family decide to do just that. There they find that it’s essentially a Japanese hot springs town, and the ogre vibe is so “Japan” that Arata is somewhat overwhelmed by the whole thing. He meets Sakuya, the sister of the ogre he met in previous books, and thankfully she’s not falling for him – though she does help accidentally facilitate the big fanservice scene of the book. A problem comes up, though, when Luna, who is hitting puberty but still can’t remember her ancestor (the trigger for it in this series), winds up possessed, then dying, then back to normal but occasionally possessed again. And then there’s Mina, who’s spent three volumes tormenting our main couple but it’s been hiding her true desires – and Arata wants to give them to her.

There’s some nice backstory for Mina here, which doesn’t tell us anything we hadn’t guessed but does help to set up the big problem. Arata’s wish is to have everyone on the island gather together in peace for a big banquet. Mina is a vampire who wants a really, really really good fight, so that she can finally die. These two are fundamentally incompatible, but this is basically a shonen series, so the outcome of their fight should not surprise you. Honestly, as blonde vampires go, Mina is on the nicer side all round, though Arata and Reina may disagree after she tries to seduce Arata in Reina’s body… and we’re told that she does the same for Reina in Arata’s body. I like to think of that as Mina being a stand in for the reader, who wants to knock their heads together and say “You two need to fuck”. As for the rest of the book, it’s cute. It’s relaxing. It’s uneventful, mostly.

That said, a large number of additional cast may hit in the next volume. We’ll see if that stirs the pot any. Till then, I’ve come to like this quite a bit.