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The Manga Review: Special K

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After months of speculation, Kodansha formally announced that it would be launching K Manga, a digital platform that will allow fans to read the latest chapters of current series as well as the full run of old favorites. The app, which will debut on May 10, 2023, will be available for both iOS and Android, and will function as “Kodansha’s official serialization platform.” As Deb Aoki notes, Kodansha’s press release was “vague in some key areas,” with no information about “pricing or subscription models,” but included a brief list of titles that would be available right away, from Attack on Titan and Blue Lock to Ghost in the Shell,  Fairy Tail, and Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagataro. Speaking with The OASG, Deputy Editor Yuta Hiraoka explained Kodansha’s decision to create its own digital platform for English-language readers. “To produce many simulpub titles, we had to be able to control the entirety of the process directly in-house,” Hiraoka told The OASG. “We also thought that by having all the titles available on the same service, we would be able to provide the same comfortable reading experience as we do in Japan.”

NEWS

Coming soon to a theater near near you: My Neighbor Totoro, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year. Screenings will take place across the US between March 25th and March 29th. [Otaku USA]

ICYMI: Astro Boy’s boots have inspired one of 2023’s most outlandish—and fun!—fashion trends. [Black Girl Nerds]

Drawn & Quarterly will be publishing Yokai: The Art of Shigeru Mizuki in October 2023. [Anime News Network]

In other licensing news, Seven Seas announced that it will release a deluxe edition of Nagata Kabi’s My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness as well as a new, follow-up volume called My Pancreas Broke, But My Life Got Better. Seven Seas will also publish Black Night Parade, a comedy from the creator of Arakawa Under the Bridge and Saint Young Men. [Seven Seas]

ARTICLES AND OPINION

Sam Moore explores the horror of Kazuo Umezz’s classic The Drifting Classroom, comparing it with more recent coming-of-age stories. “Both Classroom and Promised Neverland create their horror by changing the ways in which time functions for these adolescent characters,” he notes. “Instead of being on the cusp of something – and growing as people to face whatever that might be – they’re thrown into the future both temporally and personally.” [The Gutter Review]

Is it too soon to start composing your Best Manga of 2023 list? The gang at Noisy Pixel don’t think so, and have just named their ten favorite manga of 2023… so far. Don’t be surprised if one or two of these make the final cut in December. [Noisy Pixel]

The latest Chatty AF focuses on how asexual and aromantic characters are represented in Our Dreams at Dusk, Sex Ed 120%, and I Want to Be a Wall. [Anime Feminist]

Kory, Apryll, and Helen review The Girl That Can’t Get a Girlfriend and Run on Your New Legs. [Manga in Your Ears]

The Trash Manga Friends jump in the WABAC machine for a look at Ultimate Muscle (Kinnikuman), a Shonen Jump classic from the 1970s. [Trash Manga Friends]

The OverMangaCast crew discuss the first twelve chapters of Tokyo Revengers. [OverMangaCast]

Xan dedicates the most recent Spiraken Manga Review to two new series: The Invisible Man & His Soon-To-Be Wife and Lazy Dungeon Master. [Spiraken Manga Review]

Before Naoya Matsumoto created Kaiju No. 8, he wrote Nekowappa!, a story about a human raised by cat gods. David and Jordan offer their first impressions of this two-volume series. [Shonen Flop]

Small press alert: the Manga Machinations crew focus on three indie manga: Mermaid Town, The Karman Line, and WONDER HOUSE OF HORRORS. [Manga Machinations]

Over at SOLRAD, Ayla Marsden posts an in-depth reflection on Kiyoko Okazaki’s Helter Skelter, in which an aging model who takes extreme measures to preserve her youthful body. “What fascinates me most is the woman’s body as a grounds for transformation, as a place of not only beauty and youth, but also of extreme ugliness and decay,” Marsden observes. “In that vein, I am fascinated by the woman’s body as a location of horror through transformation – the great potential that this body has to shock, disgust, and ultimately liberate.” [SOLRAD]

REVIEWS

If you need a reminder why Scott Cederlund is one of the best comics critics out there, check out his poignant review of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back. Elsewhere, Arpad Okay praises Mothers, a new anthology from Glacier Bay Books… Megan D. takes Blue Giant for a test drive… The Reverse Thieves name Skip and Loafer their manga of the month…  Justin and Marcella continue their read-through of Revolutionary Girl Utena… and the latest Reader’s Corner offers pithy assessments of Call the Name of the Night, Ima Koi, and The Remarried Empress.

New and Noteworthy

Complete and Ongoing Series

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: A Casket of Salt

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By Mato Sato and nilitsu. Released in Japan as “Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road” by GA Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Jenny McKeon.

You will pardon me if I am just a bit exhausted after reading this volume of the series. It consists entirely of payoff, which makes the plot more interesting, but also means that we don’t really get to relax and take in anything. And, frankly, we’re still inhibited by the actual writing. The anime was quite successful when it was released, and I think it showed off that the ideas and concepts in this series work best when they’re taken away from the author’s control. This book is a slog, no mistaking it, and while I realize some of that is simply because the events in it are unrelentingly grim that’s not the only reason. It doesn’t help that I get the feeling this series was supposed to end with this book (and Flare’s plan), but the upcoming anime had the publisher tell the author “we need to extend the series, can you make everything worse instead?”.

This book is about the battle between Menou/Akari and Flare, and it does not need supporting characters getting in the way, so Ashuna quickly departs (after confirming what we all knew already, that it’s Momo she’s really into). As for Momo herself, she falls for a fairly obvious trap and spends most of the book in a literal cage. This is not to say that Menou and Akari are getting all the cool and awesome things to do, though Menou does pretty well. Unfortunately, the new character from last volume has shown up, and she is absolutely the new antagonist and wants to let you know it by removing Akari from the board. The one thing that Menou has been trying to avoid this entire time has now happened, and what’s worse, she’s not a wanted traitor. Can she possibly find a way to set things right?

It’s hard to talk about this book without spoiling everything (as you can see by that awkward paragraph above), but I do want to say that a lot of the ideas and themes here are really good. We finally get revelations about Menou’s past, as well as Akari’s past, and they fit thematically. Everything about the Pandaemonium subplot was fantastic, and almost made me have an emotion. That’s probably the part of the series I look forward to seeing most in the next book. There’s generational stuff here, as we see the relationship back in the day between Flare and one of her isekai’d victims was similar to Menou and Akari’s. An anime of this would probably kill. It’s just… it all feels so flat on the page. I kept checking to see how long it had to go. The author’s writing has no style, no pep, no verve.

There’s enough here for me to grudgingly continue, if only to see if Ashuna can actually do something next time. But for the average reader wanting to see what comes next, I recommend waiting for a Season 2 of the anime.

Manga the Week of 3/29/23

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SEAN: March is going out like a lamb, but is the manga we’ve been waiting for actually coming out? Sorry, it got bumped to May. Meanwhile…

Yen Press has one title which is Visions 2022__Illustrators Book. This is, as you might guess, a sequel to Visions 2021__Illustrators Book, and is basically the finest pixiv artbook that you can reproduce without asking copyright holders’ permission.

Viz Media has Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection (Bohyou no Machi), which is, well, another Junji Ito story collection. These are from the mid-90s, and mostly ran in Monthly Halloween, a shoujo horror magazine, and then its sister publication, Nemuki, after Monthly Halloween folded.

ASH: So much Junji Ito manga these days! But that won’t stop me from reading it.

SEAN: Also from Viz: Fist of the North Star 8 and Naruto’s Story—Uzumaki Naruto and the Spiral Destiny, a light novel.

ASH: Any week with Fist of the North Star is a good week.

SEAN: Udon debuts Persona 4 Arena, a Dengeki Maoh series for all you folks who wished Persona 4 were a fighting game. This is, in fact, an adaptation of a video game. (It got bumped.)

ASH: So many things do.

SEAN: From Tokyopop we have a one-shot, Welcome Back, Aureole (Okaeri Aureole), another Canna title (Tokyopop clearly has found another publisher who will speak to them and is milking it for all it’s worth) about two boys falling in love in high school.

They also have Konohana Kitan 12 and On or Off 3.

A new title from Steamship, The Villainess and the Demon Knight (Akuyaku Reijou to Kichiku Kishi). This Zero-Sum Online title has the heroine remember she’s a villainess in an otome game… a little too late. She’s disgraced, disowned, and is now a sex worker. Then her first customer is her childhood friend, who is a knight… who takes her as his fiancee.

ASH: That’s quite the character arc!

SEAN: From Square Enix Manga we see Beauty and the Feast 7, Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition 10, and The Strongest Sage with the Weakest Crest 11.

Seven Seas debuts The Valiant Must Fall (Yuukiarumono Yori Chire). This runs in Young Animal, and is from the creator of Gunslinger Girl. A suicidal samurai ends up being saved by a young woman with healing powers, and he wants to see what her deal is.

ASH: Hmmm.

SEAN: Also from Seven Seas: Dai Dark 5, and LES MISÉRABLES Omnibus 2.

ASH: I really need to catch up with Dai Dark.

SEAN: For those watching the anime and wishing there was more sex, One Peace Books has Farming Life in Another World 8.

Kodansha, in print, has Fire Force Omnibus 3, No. 6 Manga Omnibus 2, Sayonara, Football 16 (the final volume), The Seven Deadly Sins Manga Box Set 4, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 21, When Will Ayumu Make His Move? 10, and Wistoria: Wand and Sword 3.

Digitally, we get Bootsleg 3, Boss Bride Days 3, Cells at Work! White Brigade 4 (the final volume), A Couple of Cuckoos 10, DAYS 34, Gamaran: Shura 6, My Home Hero 2, and That’s My Atypical Girl 8.

Kaiten Books has The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting 6.

One debut from J-Novel Club, and it’s a manga version of a light novel that came out last month. I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! (Ore wa Subete o “Parry” Suru: Gyaku Kanchigai no Sekai Saikyou wa Boukensha ni Naritai) runs in Comic Earth Star Online.

And they’ve also got Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill: Sui’s Great Adventure 3, Full Metal Panic Short Stories 5, Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles 22, and VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream 4.

TECHNICALLY Ghost Ship has no new releases. In reality, I’m putting two titles here as being a bit too mature for Seven Seas’ list. Why Don’t You Eat Me, My Dear Wolf? (Tabenai no? Ookami-san) is a done-in-one volume from Rutile, and is a BL take on the Red Riding Hood story.

ASH: Oh, my!

SEAN: There’s also a 2nd volume of Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels!.

Cross Infinite World has two new debuts. The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor (Yarinaoshi Reijou wa Ryuutei Heika wo Kouryakuchuu) is another series from the creator of I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, and is in the increasingly popular villainess subgenre of “time rewind”. Sentenced to death by her fiance, our heroine suddenly finds herself six years in the past, right when she’s about to get engaged. She thus proposes to “random guy next to her”. Bad idea.

ASH: That does seem to be a questionable tactic.

SEAN: There’s also Revolutionary Reprise of the Blue Rose Princess (Aobarahime no Yarinaoshi Kakumeiki). “Yarinaoshi” is the Japanese for the Time Rewind genre, in case you’re interested. After getting stabbed to death, our heroine goes back ten years to try again.

We also get Return from Death: I Kicked the Bucket and Now I’m Back at Square One With a Girlfriend Who Doesn’t Remember Me, the 2nd novel in the series, but note the subtitle has changed.

In print, Airship has Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest 12.

And in early digital: Classroom of the Elite: Year 2 4.5 and Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 8.

Any manga lamb chops for you?

Rascal Does Not Dream of a Lost Singer

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By Hajime Kamoshida and Keji Mizoguchi. Released in Japan as “Seishun Buta Yarou wa Mayoeru Singer no Yume wo Minai” by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Cunningham.

As we hit double digit volumes for this series, and we start what is basically “Rascal: The College Years”, it’s probably a good time to ask ourselves what we really want out of the series. Let’s face it, I’d be perfectly happy just watching Sakuta interact with the rest of the cast, no plot or dangerous supernatural phenomenon needed. Add in 40-50 pages of descriptions of subway stations, which is about the average with this series, and you could say that we don’t NEED the main premise of the series anymore. The main cast, for the most part, has accepted their past and trauma, and made a good effort at moving on. Sakuta and Mai are adults in college, and even Kaede will probably be graduating soon. There’s no NEED for what has been termed “Adolescence Syndrome”. And so, until the last page of the book, I assumed that this was the point of this volume. That the problems Uzuki had were totally normal.

You can sum up the plot of this volume as follows: “What measure is a non-airhead?”. Sakuta and Mai are now at college, and living the blissful couple life (well, except they barely see each other due to her job). He’s also tutoring two students from his old high school at a cram school, and hasn’t had to worry about any supernatural phenomenon in a year and a half. Uzuki and Nodoka, from Sweet Bullet, are also there, and Uzuki is in a lot of Sakuta’s classes, as they share a major. Uzuki is, of course, her usual lovable ditz self, and seems to get along with everyone in the class. “Seems” being the operative word. Because one day, Uzuki shows up at class, and something is… off. She’s making efforts to fit in more. She’s picking up social cues. What the hell is going on? This is so unlike her!

There’s actually a whole new mini-cast introduced here, which no doubt will get more of a look-in in future volumes. We meet Miori, who honestly seems to be Rule 63 Sakuta a lot of the time, and her obvious attempts to insert herself into his life. Ikumi, who we briefly saw in the last book, is briefly seen again, and Sakuta is still vaguely uncomfortable around her. There’s the cram school kids. I feel the author is apologizing for a lot of the old cast only making token appearances, but such is life. As for Uzuki and her issues, I thought it was very well handled and sometimes very sad, and the climax of the book was excellent. The actual resolution, though, feels not QUITE as happy as I’d have liked… especially given the OTHER new character we see at the end, who implies that this really WAS supernatural, not just Uzuki suddenly maturing. Enter Touko Kirishima.

No, it’s Touko, not Touka, this is not becoming a Tokyo Ghoul crossover. Exactly what it’s becoming is still undecided. But I will admit feeling unsatisfied that the catalyst for Uzuki’s issues was actually a third party. I will have to content myself with the fact that the conflict and resolution of it was all Uzuki, and she did very well.

Sword Art Online, Vol. 26: Unital Ring V

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By Reki Kawahara and abec. Released in Japan by Dengeki Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Stephen Paul.

It’s not clear how much ;longer this arc of Sword Art Online is going to go, or if it really is the final arc in the story. I don’t think even the author knows, especially given that his afterword talks about how he gets distracted by side stories and diversions all the time and can’t advance the plot. But I think he’s thinking about it, and we get a little of that with Silica here, who gets to have most of the narration that isn’t Kirito’s when he’s in the Underworld. She’s been one of the original SAO gang for so long it’s sometimes hard to remember that she’s three years younger than most of the others, and she’s noticing that Asuna and Lisbeth aren’t playing games quite as much as they used to. It’s not framed in a “put away childish things” sort of way – indeed, Silica notes one of her friends think she’s the weird one for continuing to game so much after SAO – but hey, adulting is necessary. The real world beckons.

The plot here is neatly divided in half. On the Underworld side, Kirito, Asuna and Alice finally get to see Alice’s sister frozen in time, awaiting her return… along with two other surprise guests! Unfortunately, unfreezing them will involve Kirito and Eolyne becoming astronauts, going to one of the satellites where Kirito, pre-memory wipe, hid the information. But, of course, while there they find bad guys doing terrible things. On the Unital Ring side, the rest of the main cast need to find more ore in order to keep up with the other gamers, and doing so will involve facing off against a giant wasp nest! Can they use a dangerous flower that the SAO players know very well to try and swing the battle a little more their way? can can we really get to see a scene with Silica sitting on top of a giant bear fighting a wasp? Because that sounds pretty awesome, frankly.

This book not only thinks about the future a little bit, but also manages to recall the past. We get more “what measure is an NPC?” philosophy, but this also involves Asuna clearly thinking of Kizmel, and almost having a little breakdown. Those reading the Progressive books will know that Kizmel is hugely popular and I think the author is dragging things out a bit to use her more, but it’s also plainly obvious that she’s not going to stick around till the 75th floor, so we can guess what likely happened. And of course, we get more Underworld stuff, though of all the minor characters from that arc to make an emotional reappearance, the elevator operator was not the first one I would have guessed. It works well, though, and also allows our heroines to have a nice long bath, satisfying both Asuna’s love of bathing and also abec’s love of drawing fanservice.

So yes, the plot progression was minimal here, but this was a solid, fun read. SAO fans should be happy.

My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex: “The Six Things I Couldn’t Say”

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By Kyosuke Kamishiro and TakayaKi. Released in Japan as “Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Gierrlon Dunn.

I’ve talked about this before with other series, but there is a reason why so many authors of Japanese light novels write high school romance, and it’s not only because that’s a large part of their market. It’s because high school kids don’t have the life experience most of the time to make sensible decision or to understand the bigger picture. Things that a person thinks back on in middle age as part of their embarrassing past are, for a high school kid of 17 years old, about a quarter of their life, and thus it can seem like an insurmountable object. And, of course, it also helps the author put off the couple getting together as long as possible. Yume’s there, and ready, but Mizuto has a looooong way to go, even after the revelation he has at the end of the volume. The flashbacks through the book to their middle school years shows just how much self-loathing he holds inside himself.

It’s school festival time, and naturally the step-siblings are put in charge of what to do. “Cosplay cafe” seems to be the choice, but too many classes also want to do that, so it’s up to them to find an idea that’s unique and can get past student council approval. This also involves taking into account things like long lines and plans to stop “inappropriate” behavior. As for the festival itself, Mizuto and Yume are working the morning shift, then get the afternoon to talk around the festival together. It could almost be a date!… except they’ve got Isana there with them, as otherwise she’d just be loitering in the library feeling inadequate. It’s OK, Isana. Mizuto already feels inadequate enough for both of you.

It’s probably fortunate for Yume at the moment that the school thinks Mizuto and Isana are dating, as Mizuto’s looks and general “hospitality” attitude while at the cafe are sending the girls’ hearts soaring. Serious-minded emo teen is a thing, I have to remind myself. The strong parts of this series continue to be the dueling POVs, as we see Yume convince herself that Mizuto is stone-faced and stoic while she’s a nervous wreck trying her best, and then we see Mizuto amazed that Yume has managed to change so much and mature while he remains trapped in the past and barely able to function. As with almost all series of this type, a little communication might solve everything, but Mizuto can barely manage even the smallest amount. Fortunately, Isana may still be in love with him, but she’s also playing cupid for the two of them, so she’s there to offer the right advice. Now, what will be done with that advice is another question, especially since it looks like Yume will be joining the Student Council soon.

The author says the series is no longer about two kids who hate each other and is now about two kids who one-sidedly love each other. Hopefully it won’t be six more books before they get together. Till then, this is a very good romcom.

Pick of the Week: Sleep Is for the Weak

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SEAN: There’s a lot of stuff I’m interested in this week: new titles that run in odd shoujo magazine Asuka and odd magazine in general Harta; any number of light novels in series I follow closely; and (always) Spy x Family. But I’m going to make it Insomniacs After School, which has an anime due out in a couple weeks, and whose cover makes it look pretty cool.

KATE: I’m backing Sean’s play this week and making Insomniacs After School my pick of the week, too; early reviews have been universally positive, and the storyline has great potential.

MICHELLE: I’m intrigued by Insomniacs, but the siren song of sports manga cannot be denied, especially sports manga where I have a lot of catching up to do. Thus, it’s Yowamushi Pedal for me!

ANNA: I’m buying Yowamushi Pedal for my kids, but I’m also very curious about Insomniacs After School, so I’m going to go with that!

ASH: I will likewise chime in with my support of Yowamushi Pedal, but my official pick for the week goes to Insomniacs After School, too. Awkward friendships, astronomy, and an abandoned observatory? Count me in!

Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, Vol. 9

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By Miri Mikawa and Kasumi Nagi. Released in Japan as “Ikka Kōkyū Ryōrichō” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America digitally by J-Novel Club. Translated by Hunter Prigg.

This is one of those volumes where the audience knows the answer that the rest of the cast are searching for, but even by the end of the book they still have not quite figured it out. So much of this volume is about sacrificing personal hopes, dreams and happiness for the sake of the country, and the assumption that, deep down, everyone else will also be doing the same thing. Unfortunately for them, we’re able to peer inside Shusei’s head, and we’ve already read the previous eight books, so we know why he’s so determined to burn the entire country down to get what he wants. His birth father was able to throw it all away for the sake of love, but Shusei cannot do that, given Rimi’s position. He has to throw away everything else so he can have Rimi. And even Rimi still doesn’t quite get that, mostly as she still has the self-worth of a bent blade of grass at the side of the road.

After the events of the previous book, Kojin and Renka are being politely held at the palace so that it can be determined what happened to Rimi. The only trouble is that Rimi refuses to point any figures. That said, the answer is obvious, and Shohi has his first massive temper tantrum in some time. This results in Kojin resigning and going back to his seaside estate, and Renka saying she’d like to take up the position being offered, but won’t do it without the Chancellor agreeing to it. And the Chancellor just resigned. So someone has to go to Kojin’s estate and play peacemaker, trying to persuade him to give Shohi another chance so that the country can remain peaceful and stable. The perfect choice to do this, obviously, is the woman Kojin recently tried to murder.

Fear not, those who worry about such things, there is plenty of food in this volume, and it plays the major role in reconciliation here.l Not between Kojin and Shohi, though that happens as well, but between Kojin and Shusei, as we learn that sometimes when you think the only answer is “tough love” but you’re also terrible at real human emotions, it can come off as hatred. I always love how these mysteries are filtered through Rimi, who is actually trying to understand why they’re stubborn and unyielding but can only do so in terms of imagining what foods would and wouldn’t work on them. Kojin’s breakdown is very well handled, and I also enjoyed reading about how yes, his wife really DOES love him, surprise! That said, all this is drowned out by the cliffhanger ending, as Shusei makes war inevitable.

I am assuming that the next volume will be that war. I am also hoping that we finally get a reveal as to Mars’ identity, if only so they can be killed off. (There was an attempt at a tragic backstory here, which didn’t work well because it was too similar to the main tragic backstory.) In any case, this remains an addictive shoujo thriller.

Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire, Vol. 8

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By Hayaken and Nagu. Released in Japan as “Eiyu-oh, Bu wo Kiwameru tame Tensei su. Soshite, Sekai Saikyou no Minarai Kisi ♀” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Mike Langwiser.

Reborn to Master the Blade is not, I think, a series that’s really trying to do much beyond having fun and writing a lot of Inglis fighting. The author admits in the afterword that they really don’t have much of an idea of where to go next, so there’s not really an end goal in mind. Sometimes this is a good thing. We’re here to see Inglis fight things, and the back half of this book is all that, showing us Inglis coming as close as she’s ever come to actually getting killed, and actually (gasp!) needing the help of other people once or twice in order to fend off the biggest Prismer yet. On the down side, Inglis does not show up until 100 pages into this book, and as I said last time, without Inglis this book is just spinning its wheels. I’m sorry, supporting cast, you are not quite interesting enough on your own.

The front half of the book features Lahti facing off against his brother, Windsel, with the winner likely becoming the next King. Windsel has several demands, which seem at least vaguely acceptable, but the last one, “let us execute Pullum”, is a no go, so they’ve got to do battle. This allows everyone to whip out their new special moves, which range from unsurprising (Leone, Liselotte) to very surprising (Lahti). After this, we cut back to the Prismer, and though Rafael, Rafinha and Yua try their best, it’s going to come down to Inglis in the end, when she eventually gets there, which is (of course) right when all hope is lost. That said, can she really have enough power to stop it? And, more importantly, can everyone stop her trying to heal it up so that she can fight it even more equally?

This is essentially a series written for guys, but it features a whole lot of kickass women with either swords, magic, or both. As a result, it tries hard to attempt to push back on “why are women fighting, they are too fragile, the man should be protecting them” and actually embracing that, mostly because “a guy has to protect his younger sister” is a stronger cliche than “women can fight as well as men” in the author’s mind. It’s a bit disappointed, but hey, at least Leon and Leone have worked things out. I was also rather surprised, contrary to what I’d guessed in the last review, that the “turned into a magicite beast” process does NOT appear to be reversible. That said, Yua was at least polite enough to rescue the only one we’d actually seen named, and hopefully they can at least do SOMETHING for him.

After a half-volume of fighting, the epilogue features a whole lot of eating. This is definitely an “end of arc” book, and the next one promises to be far more light-hearted. That said, it also promises fewer fights. I hope I’m wrong there.

The Manga Review: March Madness

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Back in February, Twitter users introduced me to dozens of podcasts and websites that hadn’t been on my radar, among them The Wonder of Anime. The site was created by Lisa De La Cruz, who’s been interviewing voice actors and content creators, filing convention reports, and reviewing manga since 2019. Right now, she’s midway through her own March Madness, posting short reflections on her favorite series, from My Love Mix-Up! to Clover, Love*Com, Wave, Listen to Me!, and Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku. De La Cruz also hosts a popular podcast that’s available on Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher; recent episodes have focused on manga translation and lettering.

NEWS

If you’ve been curious about Azuki, check out Rob Salkowitz’s profile of this new digital manga platform. “We want to provide people with a wide range of manga to read, and a wide range of how they can read it,” said Marketing and Licensing Director Evan Minto. “We do our own scouting of titles that subscribers will like. That curatorial approach gives us the mindset of a publisher, not just an app.” [Forbes]

VIZ Media announced that it will be publishing Betwixt: A Horror Manga Anthology in November. The book will include work from American and Japanese artists including Becky Cloonan, Junji Ito, and Aki Shimizu. [ICv2]

Coming soon to a shelf near you: Gou Tanabe’s adaptation of The Shadow Over Innsmouth, an H.P. Lovecraft novella set in a coastal New England town where the locals harbor a nasty secret. [Dark Horse]

Dark Horse will also be releasing Shin’ichi Sakamoto’s Innocent, a manga inspired by the life of Charles-Henri Sanson, who was the Royal Executioner of France in the late 1700s. [Dark Horse]

Good news: American fans may get another chance to discover Hiromu Arakawa’s Hyakusho Kizoku (Noble Farmer), as an anime adaptation is in the works. [Last Looks]

ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS, AND OPINION

Danica Davidson interviews Fabien Grolleau and Ewen Blain about Guardian of Fukushima, a graphic novel about a farmer who became a folk hero for his unwavering dedication to the animals abandoned during the Fukushima nuclear crisis. [Otaku USA]

Anime UK News compiles a list of staff members’ favorite anime and manga based on video games, from Pokémon to Persona 4. [Anime UK News]

Planning a trip to Japan this year? Trevor Van As has compiled helpful tips for buying manga while you’re abroad. [How to Love Comics]

On the latest episode of Dad Needs to Talk, Robert reviews the new manga adaptation of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. [Dad Needs to Talk]

Ray and Gee discuss the merits of Sweat and Soap, a romantic comedy that “features one of the most healthy and communicative relationships in a contemporary romance series” in spite of its “potentially skeevy premise.” [Read Right to Left]

The Mangasplaining crew revisit an earlier work by Inio Asano: Goodnight, PunPun, a coming-of-age story that’s… well, bleak. The pictures are nice, though. [Mangasplaining]

Looking for a good read? The editors at Women Write About Comics plug the comics and manga they read—and loved—in February. [WWAC]

If you’ve ever wondered how to become a manga journalist, check out this in-depth interview with Deb Aoki. [Off Panel]

As part of her year-long celebration of Okazu’s twentieth anniversary, Erica Friedman hosts a roundtable on diversity in anime and manga journalism with panelists Samantha Ferreira (Anime Herald), Vrai Kaiser (Anime Feminist), and Lynzee Loveridge (ANN). [Okazu]

REVIEWS

The Manga Bookshelf gang weighs in on Confessions of a Shy Baker, Kitaro, and Mermaid Scales and the Town of Sand… Megan D. reviews the now-forgotten La Cordo d’Oro, a reverse-harem manga set at a music school… the latest Reader’s Corner focuses on Insomniacs After School, SHY, and Solo Leveling… Azario Lopez explains why you should be reading espionage thriller Love of Kill…. and Jocelyne Allen offers her two cents on Lemon Haruna’s surreal comedy Daru-chan, about “an alien from Darudaru, her true form a flesh-coloured blob with a cute bob and a red ribbon in it.”

New and Noteworthy

 

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