manga the week of

SEAN: October continues to push out new titles to break our banks.

First, I missed another release in last week’s list. Out tomorrow is the 6th Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress from Bookwalker.

Dark Horse has a debut I’m excited about. Mob Psycho 100 is by the author of One-Punch Man, and this time he’s also the artist. It runs in Shogakukan’s Ura Sunday, is based off the webcomic, and is about a psychic boy.

MICHELLE: Ooh, interesting!

MELINDA: This also sounds interesting to me!

ANNA: Me too!

ASH: Yup, count me in!

SEAN: J-Novel Club has some ongoing series, with a 4th Infinite Stratos, a 2nd Kokoro Connect, and a 3rd volume of The Unwanted Undead Adventurer.

Kodansha print debuts another Fairy Tail spinoff, Lightning Gods.

Kodansha digital is a different story. We begin with Forest of Piano, a series I never thought would make it over here. A long-running award-winning story about a piano prodigy, it ran in Morning magazine (actually, it debuted in Uppers, which tells you how old it is) and has its first seven omnibuses all debut digital-only next week. Will this be the title that forces Ash to buy digitally?

MICHELLE: Woot!

MELINDA: I don’t often buy digital either, but I kind of want this. Like, a lot.

ANNA: Wow, that sounds like something I should pick up.

ASH: Aaaaah, I really am going to start buying digital titles one of these days, aren’t I?

SEAN: On a more shoujo note, Mikami-sensei’s Way of Love is a Betsufure title about a girl who hasn’t had a love affair yet and her persistently annoying teacher who is likely the reason why. For those who like amusing jerk heroes.

And we have Ace of the Diamond 16, Defying Kurosaki-kun 5, Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? 4, Liar x Liar 7, and The Quintessential Quintuplets 5.

MICHELLE: I love Ace of the Diamond and one of these days I’ll read Kichijoji.

SEAN: Seven Seas has two debuts. Machimaho: I Missed Up and Made the Wrong Person into a Magical Girl! is not based on a light novel, despite the lengthy title. It runs in Shinchosha’s Kurage Bunch, and does not seem to be quite as dark as Seven Seas’ other Magical Girl titles. Violent delinquent turned magical girl is the premise.

Plus-Sized Elf is the other debut, from Wani Books’ Comic Gum. Given that it’s from Comic Gum, I would expect the fanservice to also be plus-sized. Also, despite the titular elf, I have a suspicion this is a monster girl title in general. It’s seemingly about an elf hooked on junk food.

ASH: I’ll admit I’m curious. Also, I will be very disappointed if there aren’t French fries.

Seven Seas also has Harukana Receive 2, Made in Abyss 4, Magical Girl Apocalypse 16, Nameless Asterism 3, and There’s a Demon Lord on the Floor 6.

Vertical Comics has a 4th omnibus of The Flowers of Evil.

Lastly, Viz has a 7th digital-only volume of élDLIVE.

I suspect Manga Bookshelf is thinking of pianos next week. How about you?

SEAN: Neither rain nor snow not gloom of night can stay Manga Bookshelf from looking at next weeks’ releases.

We start off with J-Novel Club, who have three new novels. An Archdemon’s Dilemma 2, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 11 (In which I hear things are all sunshine and rainbows forever), and I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse 10, where our hero tries to deal with the world of theater.

Kodansha print? There’s Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network, with stories by Western writers based on the Japanese classic.

ASH: I really liked the Attack on Titan anthology, so I’m looking forward to this volume!

SEAN: Elsewhere in print, we have the Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 1 box set, Battle Angel Alita Deluxe Edition 5, Fire Force 12,and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 8, which everyone seems to like more than I do.

The digital debut this week is Tokyo Revengers. Its plot… sounds like Erased, only edgier and more Weekly Shonen Magazine oriented, to be honest.

ASH: I do get a kick out of it, but I’m even more interested in the Battle Angel Alita finale.

SEAN: And we have: Beauty Bunny 8. Cosplay Animal 8. DAYS 10. Giant Killing 14. And Perfect World 7. Can a few of these come out less often, please. ^^;; I need to catch up!

MICHELLE: DAYS and Giant Killing, as always.

SEAN: One Peace debuts The Reprise of the Spear Hero, a light novel spinoff of The Rising of the Shield Hero, which seems to be Re: Zero only with no actual deconstruction.

Seven Seas has a debut. It’s Fairy Tale Battle Royale (Otogibanashi Battle Royale), combining beloved children’s stories with blood-spattered survival horror. If ever there was an anti-Sean title, this is it. All it’s missing is “whoops, I spilled milk all over my face!”. It’s a Kadokawa title from Gene Pixiv.

There’s also an omnibus release of the first 3 Boogiepop novels.

ASH: I’m so happy to see these back in print!

SEAN: Ongoing series include 2nd volumes for How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord’s manga version, as well as twisted weirdness with The Voynich Hotel. There’s also a 3rd volume of the Kanna’s Daily Life spinoff from Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid.

ASH: I still need to read the first volume of The Voynich Hotel. It seems like something I would appreciate.

ANNA: Oh yeah I was meaning to check it out too.

SEAN: Udon gives us an 8th volume of Persona 4.

Viz debuts a Junji Ito collection, this one featuring Frankenstein, among other things. A must for horror manga fans.

ASH: Yes!!

ANNA: Good stuff!!

SEAN: If you never read Tokyo Ghoul, there’s now a complete box set of the first series. And there’s also a 7th volume of Tokyo Ghoul: re.

Lastly, there’s a 3rd Dead Dead Demon’s Dededededestruction and a 4th Fire Punch. I prefer the former to the latter.

ASH: Same here.

ANNA: Also need to catch up with the former.

SEAN: Assuming you’re not affected by weather, what are you getting next week?

SEAN: The pile of October continues. Join us!

Dark Horse gives us the 2nd volume of Gantz G.

And Ghost Ship has a 3rd World’s End Harem, which I imagine continues to have our hero resolutely not having tons of sex.

J-Novel Club has 3 ongoing series, with Clockwork Planet 4, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 5, and Lazy Dungeon Master 2.

Kodansha announced its new October digital releases literally an hour after I posted last week’s titles, making me grit my teeth. So already out is Are You Lost? (Sounan desuka?), a title about teens stranded on an island, though at least it’s not a survival game story.

Next week’s debut is Kira-kun Today (Kyou no Kira-kun), a shoujo manga from the creator of Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight and Love’s Reach. It ran in Betsufure.

Also out digitally next week are Boarding School Juliet 5, Drowning Love 11, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 3, and Tokyo Alice 4.

MICHELLE: I had every intention of reading Drowning Love and Tokyo Alice, but keep falling further behind.

ANNA: I never even tried. Too much manga!

SEAN: No print debuts, but we do see To Your Eternity 7 and Tokyo Tarareba Girls 3.

ASH: Definitely picking both of these up!

SEAN: Seven Seas has what I suspect will be Manga Bookshelf’s Pick of Next Week with the debut of Satoko and Nada. The story of a Japanese woman and a Saudi woman sharing a room at an American college, it sounds fantastic. It runs on an online site, Twi 4.

MICHELLE: It does look fantastic!

ANNA: That sounds great. Going to see if we can purchase that at my library.

ASH: I’m really looking forward to giving this series a read.

MELINDA: This was entirely off my radar! I will definitely be picking this up!

SEAN: There’s also Himouto Umaru-chan! 3, How to Treat Magical Beasts 2, Made in Abyss 4, and Spirit Circle 5.

ASH: The first volume of How to Treat Magical Beasts was enjoyable, but my (shattering) heart lies with Spirit Circle.

Vertical debuts APOSIMZ, the newest title from the creator of BLAME! and Knights of Sidonia. It looks pretty hard SF, as usual.

MICHELLE: It does, which is not normally my thing, but I do like Nihei’s art a lot, so will probably check it out at some point.

ANNA: Is there a talking bear? This is what I need to know.

SEAN: They also have a 12th Ajin.

Viz’s debut is a short story collection based on the world of NieR:Automata, entitled Long Story Short. Anyone else have Spandau Ballet in their head?

MICHELLE: Alas, I only know their big hit.

ASH: NieR: Automata was a huge hit among my circle of friends–hopefully the short story collection will be, too!

MELINDA: I’m there with you and Spandau Ballet

SEAN: Lastly, Viz has new volumes for Case Closed (68), Magi (32), and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle (3). I’ll be getting those last two.

ANNA: Yay for more Sleepy Princess!

ASH: The series is such a delight.

SEAN: It’s a lot, but keep saving up, there’s even more out in the coming weeks. What are you getting?

SEAN: It’s fall! At last! What manga do we have?

We start, as we often do, with Dark Horse, which has the debut of Eromanga-sensei. It’s by the creator of, and if I’m being honest for the fans of, Oreimo. Slightly less incest this time, though. It runs in Dengeki Daioh.

J-Novel Club gives us a 16th volume of Invaders of the Rokujouma!? After a one-month break, I am ready for more.

Kodansha is burying us in THINGS. Let’s start with print, as we debut Boarding School Juliet, which already came out digitally. It’s Romeo and Juliet meets a boarding school, as the title suggests.

ASH: Hmm, I’m vaguely curious.

SEAN: The Seven Deadly Sins also debut a spinoff called Seven Days, which no doubt appeals to The Seven Deadly Sins fans.

ASH: It features Ban, who is probably the character from The Seven Deadly Sin that I get the biggest kick out of.

SEAN: There’s also a 5th Again!!, 9th Descending Stories, a 9th Heroic Legend of Arslan.

ASH: I’ll admit I’ve fallen behind, but I actually am following all of these series.

MICHELLE: I finally read the first couple Descending Stories volumes and liked them very much!

SEAN: There *is* a new Kodansha digital title out next week, but as Kodansha hasn’t announced it yet, I’ll wait till they do. There is, however, Vols. 15-22 of Beck, Can’t You Just Die, My Darling? 5, A Kiss, for Real 4, My Boy in Blue 3, Peach Girl NEXT 2, and The Prince’s Romance Gambit 3.

ANNA: Too much! Too much digital!

MICHELLE: The covers of A Kiss, for Real are promising, but I haven’t had a chance to dip into any of these yet.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a 2nd hardcover of the Captain Harlock Classic Collection. There’s also Crisis Girls 2 and Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life 3.

ANNA: OOH, I forgot to get the first Captain Harlock!

ASH: I enjoyed it!

SEAN: Udon has a 2nd volume of Dragon’s Crown.

Vertical and Viz, hilariously, have two of the biggest debuts of the year, and they are RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER, so I can’t use both for images. Fortunately, I am aware already what Manga Bookshelf will have as Pick of the Week. Thus, here’s a big slab of Pop Team Epic’s cover art. The first volume debuts next week, and we shall see if its cult audience will actually buy manga.

Viz Media debuts Ao Haru Ride, the title that was so requested they’re still calling it Ao Haru Ride and not Blue Spring Ride! It’s from the creator of, and better than, Strobe Edge. And given I quite liked Strobe Edge, it has a lot to live up to. It ran in Betsuma from 2011-2015.

ANNA: YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!

MICHELLE: What she said!

MELINDA: OMG YES.

SEAN: The other debut is the manga version of Juni Taisen: Zodiac War, NISIOISIN’s attempt at doing a survival game manga. The novel was… good, but not his best. Will the manga work better?

ASH: I think the story is much more suited to manga.

SEAN: One finale next week, but it’s a biggie: the 74th and final Bleach, in which ICHIHIME WINS! HAH! (cough) Sorry. There is also the 24th Bleach 3-in-1.

MELINDA: It’s hard to believe this day has come.

SEAN: And we get… get your pencils ready… Blue Exorcist 20, Food Wars! 26, Haikyu!! 28, Kuroko’s Basketball 2-in-1 14, My Hero Academia 15, My Hero Academia Vigilantes 2, the 24th and final Naruto 3-in-1 (NARUHINA WINS!… ow. Ow, ow, stop with the hitting…), Natsume’s Book of Friends 22, The Promised Neverland 6, Rurouni Kenshin’s 8th 3-in-1, Takane & Hana 5, The Water Dragon’s Bride 7, and Yona of the Dawn 14. I have to say, this may be the single best week I have ever seen Viz put out. Not kidding, there’s like 10 must reads on my list, and they’re ALL COMING OUT NEXT WEEK. Give me a break…

ANNA: So good! So much good stuff from Viz!

ASH: I’ve definitely got my eyes on more than a few!

MICHELLE: I’ve got my eyes on most of those, frankly.

MELINDA: Well, wow.

SEAN: Are you upset? If you’re not upset, what are you buying next week?

ANNA: I’m not sure if you can tell, but I’m a little excited about Ao Haru Ride.

SEAN: September has ended. Go in peace, to love and serve the manga.

Let’s break this down, cause there’s a lot. First of all, Bookwalker snuck out The Ryuo’s Work is Never Done 4 last week and I missed it. Sorry, loli shogi fans!

Ghost Ship has the 5th To-Love-Ru omnibus.

J-Novel Club has the 7th Demon King Daimaou.

Kodansha has its usual pile o’ digital, but print first. We see Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight 7, The Seven Deadly Sins 28, and the 6th and final volume of Wake Up Sleeping Beauty. I suspect MB peeps are most interested in the last one.

MICHELLE: Yep!

ASH: It’s true!

SEAN: The digital debut looks amusing. Ao-chan Can’t Study (Midarana Ao-chan wa Benkyou ga Dekinai), a shonen series about a girl who has (to her shame) inherited her father’s dirty mind, and a guy who loves her and won’t take a hint.

Ongoing? There’s Ace of the Diamond 15, Beauty Bunny 7, Defying Kurosaki-kun 4, Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? 3, Liar x Liar 6, My Boyfriend in Orange 5, and The Quintessential Quintuplets 4.

MICHELLE: Ace and Kichijoji for me.

SEAN: Lately Seven Seas has been backloading all their series to the end of the month, which means there is SO MUCH out next week. The debut is a digital one (print comes out at the end of October: The Ancient Magus’ Bride Supplement I is another Guidebook to the world of this popular series.

ASH: I’ll be waiting for the print edition, personally, but am glad it’s coming out digitally, too.

SEAN: And so many ongoing series. We see the 6th 12 Beast (not to be confused with the 12th 6 Beast), A Centaur’s Life 15, Devilman Grimoire 4, the 2nd Dragon Half omnibus, Generation Witch 5, The Girl from the Other Side 5, Hachune Miku’s Everyday Vocaloid Paradise 4, Hour of the Zombie 7, Magical Girl Site 7, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka 4, New Game! 3, Not Lives 10, Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General 2, and Soul Liquid Chambers 2. There’s a lot of grimdark and fanservice (and both) in that, but I’m excited for Dragon Half, The Girl from the Other Side (which is admittedly pretty dark), and New Game.

MICHELLE: I’m always excited for more of The Girl from the Other Side.

ANNA: Me too! Such a unique series!

ASH: Wow, you weren’t kidding about the number of Seven Seas title! The first Dragon Half was certainly entertaining and The Girl from the Other Side remains one of my favorite series currently being released.

SEAN: Vertical has been debuting a lot this month, as we now get After the Rain (Koi wa Ameagari no You ni), which is not by the creator of School Rumble despite seemingly having Yakumo on the cover. It’s a seinen manga from Big Comic Spirits, about a high school girl and her romantic pursuits. It’s gotten some good buzz.

MICHELLE: I like its cover!

ANNA: Ok, I’m curious.

SEAN: Viz has a digital-only release of the 9th Boys Over Flowers Season 2.

ANNA: One day I want to give into nostalgia and catch up on this series.

SEAN: Lastly, Yen Press has some digital titles and some runoff from last week. The digital is the 18th volume of Sekirei. The print is the 16th Barakamon and the 4th (and I believe last) No Game No Life Please!.

And for fans of A Bride’s Story, Vol 1-5 are finally out digitally next week, with the other 5 volumes arriving in October.

We also have the print debut of a series that came out digitally by chapter a while back, Hinowa Ga CRUSH!. With a title like that, you can guess it’s from the creator of Akame Ga KILL!, and appears to be tied into it. It runs in Big Gangan.

Any manga for next week before everyone starts saving for Pumpkin Spice?

MELINDA: So if I’m not that into anything here, does it mean I’m stuck with Pumpkin Spice?

SEAN: Wake me when September ends?

Dark Horse starts us off with the official Berserk Guidebook. This is a guide to the world of Berserk, and not a guide to why it’s on hiatus so often, FYI.

ASH: Hahaha! Either way, I’m still picking it up.

SEAN: There’s also a 7th volume of dark as pitch Fate/Zero.

Ghost Ship has a 6th volume of To-Love-Ru Darkness.

J-Novel Club has two one-shot novels, both very much off the beaten track from the typical light novel. JK Haru Is a Sex Worker in Another World *sounds* like it should be dire, but apparently it’s really well-written and the translator has been pushing it as hard as she can.

And Last and First Idol won oodles of awards, including the prized Seiun Award (the Japanese equivalent of the Hugos), and this collection includes that story and a couple of others.

ASH: I’ve certainly enjoyed the other Seiun Award titles that I’ve read.

SEAN: In more typical J-Novel Club fare, we also have How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom 7 and In Another World with My Smartphone 10.

Kodansha debuts The Walls Between Us, which is a shoujo title from Dessert starring a girl who is confessed to by her childhood friend. The trouble is, his personality is awful.

ANNA: Ok, this does sound potentially amusing.

MICHELLE: I typically like Dessert offerings.

MELINDA: Sounds like this could be fun.

SEAN: And they have Back Street Girls 4, Kamikamikaeshi 4, Karate Heat 3, Living-Room Matsunaga-san 4, and Perfect World 6.

In Kodansha print, we have Interviews with Monster Girls 6.

One Peace debuts Hinamatsuri, which seems to be “yakuza meets supernatural girl”. I don’t know much about it, except it runs in Harta, so is awesome by default.

ASH: Count me curious!

ANNA: I do enjoy the fact that One Peace comes up with some out of left field titles now and then.

MELINDA: I plan to take a look at this!

SEAN: They also have a 2nd manga volume of Mikagura School Suite.

Pantheon has the 2nd and final omnibus of My Brother’s Husband. Can’t wait to read this.

ASH: Yes, this! I am still absolutely thrilled and delighted that this series was translated.

ANNA: Going to try to order it for my library!

MICHELLE: I’m also really looking forward to this one.

MELINDA: Oh, wonderful! I’m so excited!

SEAN: Seven Seas has a light load, with only Getter Robo Devolution 2 and High-Rise Invasion 3-4.

Udon debuts a manga that does not have the word “Persona” in its title! Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu is a Young Ace title that features an izakaya whose food can literally transport you elsewhere.

ASH: Hooray for more fantasy food manga! (Or is it food fantasy manga?)

ANNA: Food manga is always a genre to be treasured.

MICHELLE: Huh! Sounds interesting!

SEAN: Vertical has a 3rd volume of CITY.

Viz debuts the perfect edition of 20th Century Boys. If you haven’t read this title before, this is a great way to get it. If you have, you may want to get it anyway. It has bells and whistles.

ANNA: Yay!

MICHELLE: I will never not love the opening pages in which T. Rex’s “20th Century Boy” is played over a school intercom.

SEAN: There is also Children of the Whales 6 (meh) and Golden Kamuy 6 (yay!).

ASH: I’ve fallen very far behind on Children of the Whales but Golden Kamuy is always a reading priority for me.

SEAN: Yen has no light novel debuts, but they do have a number of ongoing titles. Accel World 15, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody 6, Goblin Slayer 5, The Irregular at Magic High School 9, Overlord 8, A Sister’s All You Need 2, Strike the Blood 10, and the 2nd Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online.

Yen also, oddly, has no manga debuts in September either. It’s all ongoing series! As Miss Beelzebub Likes 3, Bungo Stray Dogs 8, Erased 5, the 2nd DanMachi 4-koma, Odd Days of Goddess, Kiniro Mosaic 7, One Week Friends 4, Puella Magi Oriko Magica Sadness Prayer 4, the 5th volume of the 2nd Re: Zero arc, The Royal Tutor 9, Sunshine Sketch 9, A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School 4, Though You May Burn to Ash 3, and the 11th Ubell Blatt omnibus, Ubel Blatt 10. (NEVER FORGET UBEL BLATT NUMBERING.) Of that list, I’m most interested in the Sae-and-Hiroless Sunshine Sketch.

ASH: I’m looking forward to reading the last bit of Erased, myself.

MICHELLE: Someday, I’ll manage to read Erased.

MELINDA: I’m ready for more Erased.

SEAN: So, to sum up: September’s not over. What are you getting?

SEAN: There is, it has to be said, a bit of manga out next week. Just a wee bit. A dram.

MICHELLE: A smidge.

ASH: A skosh, perhaps.

SEAN: And also some light novels, starting with Cross Infinite World, who have The Champions of Justice and the Supreme Ruler of Evil, which seems to be on the humorous side. It’s also got some steamy scenes, be warned!

Fantagraphics gives us the one-volume Dementia 21 by famous (infamous) manga artist Shintaro Kago. Best described as ‘surreal horror’, I’ve wanted to see Kago’s works over here for some time. This volume is a great start.

ASH: I’m always glad to see more manga released by Fantagraphics! Kago’s work can be pretty intense.

ANNA: Me too! I feel that they target manga no other publisher would take on.

SEAN: J-Novel Club have two debuts. The first is Amagi Brilliant Park, from the creator of Full Metal Panic. It’s about an amusement park and also involves magic, I think?

The other new title is Der Werewolf: The Annals of Veight. Seems to be another reincarnation isekai. But werewolves!

And there’s also Infinite Dendrogram 7 and The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind! 6.

Kodansha’s debut is actually a new edition of a title that’s now been debuted 3 times. Sailor Moon: Eternal Edition. Larger trim! Different translation! More bells and whistles! Buy it again for the first time.

ANNA: Sailor Moon!!

MICHELLE: Oh, I didn’t know there was a different translation! Maybe I do need to buy it again.

MELINDA: Well, damn.

SEAN: There’s also Golosseum 3, Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai 4, and Waiting for Spring 8.

Digitally there’s no new debuts, but we do get Peach Girl 9-18, as well as Tokyo Alice 3.

Seven Seas has a lot of interesting stuff. We get Dragon Goes House Hunting (Dragon, Ie wo Kau), whose title alone makes me want to read it. It’s from Mag Garden’s Comic Blade.

MICHELLE: I’ve been eagerly anticipating this one!

ASH: I’m looking forward to it, too!

SEAN: Tomo-chan is a Girl! (Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko!) is the other manga debut next week. About a tomboy girl who can’t convince her childhood friend she likes him romantically, it’s a 4-koma from what I believe is an online site, but Kodansha collects the volumes.

ASH: Oh, I didn’t realize it was a four-panel manga! I’ve heard good things about it, though.

SEAN: There’s also the debut of J-Novel Club’s biggest breakout hit in print, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom.

But there’s also a 9th volume of The Ancient Magus’ Bride, a 12th D-Frag! (the first in 17 months), Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average! Novel 3 (in print) and 4 (digitally), The Testament of Sister New Devil STORM! 4, and Toradora! manga 8 (the first since June 2015).

MICHELLE: Yay for The Ancient Magus’ Bride!

ASH: Yes, indeed!

SEAN: SuBLime debuts Escape Journey, a BL series from Libre Shuppan’s Be x Boy filled with dubious consent and drama.

MELINDA: Why always dubious consent, whyyyyy?

SEAN: And a 7th Don’t Be Cruel is out next week too.

Tokyopop has the 2nd Konohana Kitan.

And Udon has a 7th volume of the Persona 4 manga.

Vertical debuts The Delinquent Housewife (Futsutsuka na Yome Desu ga!), a slapstick comedy from Shogakukan’s Big Comic Spirits about a man who discovers his new sister-in-law is, shall we say, not the perfect Japanese wife.

Viz has Radiant. It’s actually a French manga, but Akaneshinsha releases it in Japan. It’s got wizards, monsters, and the Inquisition. Sounds pretty manga to me.

ANNA: OK!

MELINDA: Interesting!

ASH: It really is!

SEAN: There’s also a 32nd Hayate the Combat Butler, a 4th Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and a 4th Splatoon.

See? Barely anything. A doddle. What are you getting?

SEAN: Back to School! You’ve bought all your school supplies, but save money for manga too!

Ghost Ship starts us off with a 4th volume of Yokai Girls.

J-Novel Club has one debut this week. Gear Drive stars a young woman in a world where magic is commonplace. However, she doesn’t have a specialty… yet. Could her specialty be gears? Bet it’s gears.

There’s also a 3rd volume of The Master of Ragnarok and Blesser of Einherjar (watch the anime!) and a 5th volume of Outbreak Company (anime aired some time ago).

Kodansha has a whole pile of digital stuff, including Peach Girl Next, the sequel to the just re-released Peach Girl. It’s about… what happens next.

MICHELLE: Heh.

ANNA: I barely remember Peach Girl, and don’t think I am going to reread the digital version, but I am sort of curious about what happens next!

SEAN: There’s also Beware the Kamiki Brothers! 5, Can You Just Die My Darling? 4, Cosplay Animal 7, I’m Standing on a Million Lives 2, My Boy in Blue 2, The Prince’s Romance Gambit 2, and Those Summer Days 4. Getting so far behind.

MICHELLE: Desperately far behind.

SEAN: In print, there’s only one: Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Side: P4 Volume 3. If you can translate the code of all those letters and numbers, you can get the manga’s secret message.

ASH: It’s a fun addition to the Persona franchise.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a digital debut with the 6th Boogiepop novel, Boogiepop at Dawn.

ASH: Released in print a decade ago, and to be released in print again in an omnibus in the near future, I rather liked the volume.

SEAN: Vertical gives is an 8th Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.

And there’s Viz! A lot of Viz, as always. The debut is Shonen Jump this time, with Dr. STONE, a manga that’s been a big hit in Japan. It’s got the writer from Eyeshield 21 and the artist from Sun-Ken Rock, and it’s a post-apocalypse adventure.

MICHELLE: Oh, interesting! I’ve been meaning to finish reading Eyeshield 21.

ANNA: That does sound interesting!

ASH: The creative team involved certainly caught my attention if nothing else. I generally enjoy a good post-apocalypse adventure, too, though.

MELINDA: I’m interested!

SEAN: Also Jump or Jump-esque: Astra: Lost in Space 4, Boruto 4, Demon Slayer 2, Haikyu!! 27, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War 4, One Piece’s 25th 3-in-1, Seraph of the End 15, and Twin Star Exorcists 13.

MICHELLE: Haikyu!!

ANNA: My kids are so devoted to this series they wanted to get their own volleyball to start practicing in real life.

ASH: Haikyu!! and Demon Slayer are both high on my list.

SEAN: On the shoujo end, no new debuts, but we get Anonymous Noise 10, Queen’s Quality 5, Skip Beat! 41, and The Young Master’s Revenge 3. Skip Beat! Is always wonderful whenever it comes out.

MICHELLE: Skip Beat! I’ve really been dying to see how Kyoko’s latest audition turns out. I need to get caught up on Queen’s Quality, too.

ANNA: No surprise, I’m excited about all these series!

ASH: I quite enjoy a fair number of them myself.

MELINDA: I’m also planning to get caught up on Queen’s Quality!

SEAN: What manga are you secretly reading under your desk during class?

SEAN: Last week of August. Should be small, right? Hah. So much Kodansha digital. So much Seven Seas. Yen Press runoff stuff. It’s huge.

ASH: Let’s jam!

We begin with Cross Infinite World, who have another light novel for us with The Eccentric Master and the Fake Lover. Despite the somewhat salacious copy about bodily fluids, I think this is a woman-oriented romance title.

Dark Horse has the 18th and final volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project. Don’t worry, the omnibuses are still going.

ASH: I’m glad that Dark Horse has found ways to keep things in print, but I’ll admit the publisher’s printing (and reprinting) schedule can be frustrating.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has a 6th volume of To-Love-Ru Darkness.

J-Novel Club has two debuts. Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles looks to combine both reincarnation isekai AND the magical academy sort of book.

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen may sound familiar to those with long memories – its anime adaptation aired exactly 20 years ago, and the novels are even older than that. It’s a big ol’ epic fantasy.

J-Novel Club also has a 7th If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord, which I believe catches us up with Japan.

Kodansha does have a few print titles next week. There’s Again!! 4, Aho-Girl 8, and the 4th Battle Angel Alita: Mars Chronicle.

MICHELLE: Yay for more Again!!.

ASH: I’m excited to read more, too!

ANNA: Triple yay!

SEAN: The majority of stuff is digital, though. Technically there’s no debut, but Kodansha is releasing digital versions of Peach Girl 1-18. These are the old Tokyopop editions ported over, I think, rather than a new translation, but that’s fine. Enjoy some classic overwrought shoujo!

MICHELLE: Oh, neat! I didn’t know they were doing that. That said, I have a big stack of TOKYOPOP editions that I never read, so… I would like to see them finish Ueda’s Papillon, which Del Rey had been publishing.

ANNA: Yeah, Papillon was good!

SEAN: And there’s Ace of the Diamond 14, Defying Kurosaki-kun 3, Hotaru’s Way 6, I Want to Hold Aono-kun So Badly I Could Die 3, Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? 2, Liar x Liar 5, and The Quintessential Quintuplets 3. Phew!

MICHELLE: I regret that I haven’t managed to read Is Kichijoji yet, but still, yay for more sports manga!

SEAN: But wait, here comes Seven Seas, and they’re burying us too. Debuts first. Cutey Honey: the Classic Collection is another deluxe hardcover which collects the original Cutey Honey manga from 1973. It should be complete in one omnibus, and is a must-read.

ASH: Cutie Honey A Go Go! was a lot of fun, so I’m looking forward to reading the original.

SEAN: The other new title is Ultra Kaiju Humanization Project, which is a Young Champion series that imagines an alien invasion that needs Japanese monsters to save the day! There’s just one problem. The monsters are high school girls. This sounds fascinatingly wretched.

And we also have (deep breath) Captain Harlock: Dimensional Voyage 5, Citrus 8, Holy Corpse Rising 5, How to Build a Dungeon 4, Magical Girl Apocalypse 15, Monster Girl Doctor light novel 3, and My Monster Secret 12. There’s a lot of stuff in that list I hate, so I am pleased it ends with My Monster Secret, which is hilarious.

ASH: I need to catch up on Dimensional Voyage, especially since the original Captain Harlock is now being released, too.

SEAN: Vertical Comics has a 2nd Chi’s Sweet Adventures, for all your cute cat needs.

If you prefer snakes, why not read the latest Monogatari novel from Vertical, Inc? Otorimonogatari: Decoy Tale gives us the story of Nadeko Sengoku’s encounter with a snake aberration, but who’s controlling whom here?

Yen Press also has a few titles that didn’t come out last week. Digitally we have Corpse Princess 18, IM: Great Priest Imhotep 7, and Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 7.

Yen On has the 2nd novel of better-than-it-sounds fantasy Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon.

And lastly, Yen debuts Final Fantasy: Lost Stranger, where a Square Enix employee and his sister die and are reborn in the world of Final Fantasy. Yes, isekai has finally met Final Fantasy. Can we cope with this?

Are you coping with all this manga? What are you getting?

MICHELLE: SuBLime has a small number of digital-only series and my very favorite, The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, has a fifth volume coming out! I’m snagging that for sure.

MELINDA: Oh, hey! I need to catch up with that!!

ASH: One of the titles I really wish was getting a print release!

SEAN: Whoops! Pretend I mentioned that up above.

SEAN: Let’s face it, even without Yen Press this would be a really heavy week. With Yen it’s absolutely terrifying.

But first, the non-Yen offerings. Dark Horse gives us the first Gantz omnibus, in case you want to catch up on your lycra.

Haikasoru has the 7th volume of Legend of Galactic Heroes. If it’s the one I think it is, oh dear.

MICHELLE: Someday, I really will read these. My intentions are good!

ANNA: I have good intentions about reading this as well.

ASH: I’m a few volumes behind, but I’ve been enjoying them!

J-Novel Club announced a bunch of stuff at Anime Expo, and this is what I was most excited about. I loved the Kokoro Connect manga when it came out years ago, and wished we could read the light novels. Now we can! The first one is out next week.

J-Novel Club also has the 3rd Infinite Stratos novel.

Kodansha has some print manga for all of you. Attack on Titan: Before the Fall 14, Battle Angel Alita Deluxe Edition 5, Love and Lies 7, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 7.

ASH: Oh, print manga! The deluxe edition Battle Angel Alita is really nice, and I’ve been enjoying That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime more than I expected.

SEAN: There’s five debuts in their digital lineup though, all one-volume BL titles. They seem to be from their Honey Milk magazine, and are: Intertwining Lives, Keeping His Whims in Check, Key Ring Lock, Stray Bullet Baby, and Trap in a Skirt. Looking askance at that last one, but kudos to Kodansha for reaching out to a new audience.

MICHELLE: Very much the same re: askance looks, but otherwise I’m fairly intrigued.

ANNA: Glad the BL fans are getting some content!

MELINDA: I’m looking askance, mostly at some of these titles. Trap in a Skirt?

SEAN: They also have many ongoing digital titles, with DAYS 9, Giant Killing 13, Kakafukaka 2, Karate Heat 2, and Perfect World 5.

MICHELLE: All of which I intend to read at some point, probably starting with the soccer titles.

ANNA: I wish there was more print sports manga in general, my kids love it.

SEAN: Seven Seas has no debuts this week, but they do have a 4th Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor, a 13th Arpeggio of Blue Steel, and a 3rd Saint Seiya: Saintia Sho.

Vertical gives us an 11th Devils’ Line.

Oh boy, more titles I have nothing to say about. Viz has Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt 8, the 2nd RWBY Anthology (which focuses on Weiss), and Tokyo Ghoul: re 6.

ASH: I haven’t gotten into Tokyo Ghoul to the same extent that a lot of people seem to have, but I’m glad to see it doing well enough to bring in the other related series.

SEAN: And Yen. So much Yen, particularly if you read their light novels. A debut and a one-shot this month. The debut is Defeating the Demon Lord’s a Cinch (If You’ve Got a Ringer). A hero is summoned to another world, and he and his party need to defeat the demon lord. Sadly, the hero and his party are useless, so it’s up to the priest trailing behind to save them from their own awfulness. Expect comedy here.

ASH: That does sound rather amusing.

SEAN: The one-shot is another novelization of a popular movie, this one called Fireworks: Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?. I’m thinking it’s your name-y.

But there’s more. So much more. The Asterisk War 7, Baccano! 8, A Certain Magical Index 16, The Devil Is a Part-Timer! 11, KonoSuba 6, I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years 2, Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers 5, Sword Art Online 14, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime 3. That’s a lot of Yen On’s best-sellers. And also Index.

Believe it or not, Yen has some manga as well. Quite a bit, in fact. Debuts? Sure. Chio’s School Road is a Comic Flapper title showing our heroine walking to school every day and getting in the most amazing predicaments.

And deep breath, let’s pound through the ongoing titles out next week. ACCA 4, Angels of Death 4, Aoharu x Machinegun 12, Black Butler 26, BTOOOM! 22, The Case Study of Vanitas 4, Dimension W 11, Forbidden Scrollery 4, Hatsu*Haru 2, Re: Zero Arc 3 Volume 4, the 8th and final volume of Scum’s Wish (though there’s a sequel, as yet unlicensed), Silver Spoon 4, Tales of Wedding Rings 3, Today’s Cerberus 10, Trinity Seven 14, and Yowamushi Pedal 9. (breathes) In that list, Silver Spoon and Yowapeda are what excite me most.

MICHELLE: I share your enthusiasm for those particular titles, though I also want to get caught up on Hatsu*Haru and ACCA.

ASH: That is a lot! ACCA, Silver Spoon, and Yowamushi Pedal are mostly where I’m at.

MELINDA: Silver Spooooooooooon! I’ve fallen behind on The Case Study of Vanitas after being disappointed with its start, but I’ll always give Jun Mochizuki a chance, so I should get back to that.

SEAN: So, you reading anything? Or just giving up?

ANNA: I’m giving up! My to read manga pile got so big it toppled over the other day!

SEAN: 30 manga enter! One manga leaves! It’s manga madness!

But let’s start with light novels, as Bookwalker has a 5th volume of The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress.

Dark Horse has the 3rd and final RG Veda omnibus, after much delay.

MICHELLE: I actually forgot this was even coming out.

ASH: (Really) slow but steady, I guess?

SEAN: J-Novel Club’s debut is An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride (yes, they sensibly changed the title after they first announced it), which is apparently cute and adorable.

There’s also new volumes of Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash (10), I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse (9), and The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind! (5). J-Novel cornering the market in long light novel titles.

Kodansha. A whole lot. Starting with print, we have an 11th Fire Force, an 8th In/Spectre (always a favorite of mine) and the 3rd Toppu GP (in which instead of a harem it’s just bikes.)

Kodansha’s digital debut is Back Street Girls, which I have to admit has one of the more “…what, really?” premises out there. Three yakuza guys who’ve failed one too many times are punished by… getting sex reassignment surgery and becoming an idol group. I admit I’m curious, but let’s face it: it’s morbid curiosity.

MICHELLE: *dubious face*

ASH: Dubious morbid curiosity about sums it up for me, too. (Also, I had completely forgotten about this license.)

ANNA: Feeling enthusiastic about skipping this manga!

SEAN: But there’s plenty of other digital volumes out next week. Aoba-kun’s Confessions 7, Boarding School Juliet 4, Drowning Love 10, Kamikamikaeshi 3, Kasane 13, Lovesick Ellie 6, Those Summer Days 3, and Tokyo Alice 2. Tokyo Alice interests me most in that stack.

MICHELLE: I’m definitely down for Tokyo Alice, and the covers for Those Summer Days make me think I’ll like it as well, but mostly I’m happy for more Lovesick Ellie.

SEAN: One Peace has the 12th The Rising of the Shield Hero light novel.

Seven Seas has a debut with Accomplishments of a Duke’s Daughter (Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami). Based on a sadly unlicensed light novel, it’s part of a rising trend of isekai books where a young girl is reincarnated into a fantasy world… as the villain. And she’s about to get the “bad end”. What is she to do? This runs in Young Ace Up.

MICHELLE: That sounds kinda neat.

ASH: It does seem to be a fresher take on isekai than some others we’ve seen.

SEAN: And there is a 5th Bloom Into You, and a 5th Species Domain.

SuBLime gives us a 4th volume of A Strange and Mystifying Story. Honestly, after four volumes it should be less mystifying.

ASH: This is the first newly translated volume, too!

MICHELLE: *snerk* They did switch up the main couple in volume three, so as to keep the mystification going, one assumes.

SEAN: Vertical has a 4th omnibus of deeply strange Arakawa Under the Bridge.

Viz has a debut this week with That Blue-Sky Feeling (Sorairo Flutter), a Gangan Joker series about a new transfer student who hears a rumor that his classmate is gay. I’ve heard very good things about this one.

MICHELLE: I flipped through a review copy the other day and it looks pretty great. Looking forward to getting around to reading it.

ASH: Same!

ANNA: Me too!

SEAN: Viz also gives us the 2nd hardcover collection of Fullmetal Alchemist, the 31st Magi, and the 2nd Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle.

ASH: The first volume of Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle was delightful. I’m looking forward to reading more.

ANNA: It was uncomplicated fun.

SEAN: Who won? Who lost? You decide!

ASH: I think we’re all winners here, Sean!

SEAN: August is here, and it’s punishing. There’s lots and lots and lots.

So much I have trouble keeping up. Apologies to-J-Novel Club, as I should have had the 15th Invaders of the Rokujouma!? On last week’s list – it’s out this Friday.

As for next week, their debut is Lazy Dungeon Master. It’s an isekai, but this time the hero is in charge of a dungeon full of monsters beset by adventurers. “Hero” may not be the most accurate description.

They’ve also got a 7th Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest, and the 3rd and final volume of Me, a Genius?.

Kodansha has some print in amongst their avalanche of digital. The 4th Colossal Edition of Attack on Titan, Descending Stories 8, the 4th and final Fairy Tail: Blue Mistral, and the 2nd print volume of Tokyo Tarareba Girls.

MICHELLE: Man, I’ve really gotta catch up on Descending Stories.

ASH: Same! I’ve greatly enjoyed what I’ve read so far. Also, hooray for more Tokyo Tarareba Girls (in print)!

ANNA: Yay!

SEAN: On the digital front, there’s a lot more. The debut is My Boy in Blue (P to JK), a Betsufure shoujo series that seems to be the police equivalent to My Boyfriend in Orange. But it’s won awards, so sounds interesting.

MICHELLE : It gives off a *very* similar vibe.

SEAN: And we also have All-Rounder Meguru 7, Beware the Kamiki Brothers! 4, Black Panther and Sweet 16 8, Can You Just Die, My Darling? 3, A Kiss, for Real 3, and Space Brothers 32. Man, the manga bust years seem so long ago…

MICHELLE: So much!

SEAN: Quirk books has a YA Attack on Titan novel written by Rachel Aaron, Garrison Girl.

Seven Seas time. On the light novel side, we have a 5th digital volume of Boogiepop, and a 3rd digital edition of Make My Abilities Average. On the print side, we have the 2nd print volume of MMAA as well, and the 3rd Arifureta novel. And both print and digital is the 2nd Toradora! Novel.

ASH: Oh! I didn’t realize the new Boogiepop volumes would be released so quickly! Definitely picking the omnibus up when it comes out in print.

SEAN: Manga-wise, we’ve got a 2nd Devilman vs. Hades and the 8th Lord Marksman and Vanadis.

ASH: I’m liking all the Devilman manga being released these days.

SEAN: Vertical has a 13th volume of What Did You Eat Yesterday?, delighting Manga Bookshelf folks who have found Pick of the Week a bit thin on the ground lately.

MICHELLE: Yay!!!

ANNA: Woo hoo!

SEAN: And, as always, there is Viz. The shonen debut is Black Torch, a fantasy series from Jump Square involving talking with animals and ninjas.

Also out on the shonen front are Black Clover 12, Food Wars! 25, Haikyu!! 26, the 8th hardcover of the 3rd arc of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, the 13th Kuroko’s Basketball 2-in-1, a 14th My Hero Academia, One Piece 87 (Christ, 87 volumes…), Platinum End 6, The Promised Neverland 5, and the final 43rd volume of Toriko.

MICHELLE: Dang.

ASH: Lots of good shonen stuff.

ANNA: Awesome!

SEAN: The shoujo debut sounds pretty sweet – literally. Shortcake Cake is from Margaret magazine (yes, actual Margaret! Not Betsuma or Ribon!) about a girl with a hideously long commute to school who moves into a boardinghouse full of guys. This actually looks better than it sounds (or at least less of a cliché).

MICHELLE: Somehow, I had missed this one! I typically like stuff from Margaret.

ANNA: Looking forward to this!

SEAN: Other shoujo. It’s August, so it’s time for our annual release of Kaze Hikaru! This is Vol. 26! It came out in Japan in 2009! But it’s awesome, and I thank Viz for continuing it.

MICHELLE: I can’t believe I actually forgot about this!

ANNA: Every year I look forward to the annual Kaze Hikaru release. It is SO good!

SEAN: And there’s Takane & Hana 4, Vampire Knight: Memories 2, and Yona of the Dawn 13.

ASH: Lots of good shoujo stuff, too!

ANNA: Indeed. My kind of week!

SEAN: Lastly, not manga but coming from Viz Media, we have King of Strong Style, the biography of renowned wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura.

ASH: This is supposed to be pretty great. I’m not especially into wrestling, but I still plan on picking it up.

ANNA: I picked up the ARC at ALA. My friends who like wrestling are super stoked for this.

SEAN: That’s a lot! But also a lot of awesome. What’s in your bookshelf by next week?

SEAN: Remember, it’s not really August 1st but July 32nd! Treat this as a 5th week, which means expect oddball stuff.

ASH: I rather appreciate oddball stuff.

ANNA: Maybe time to make a dent into my unread manga piles!

SEAN: Cross Infinite World has another debut. Despite not being your “standard” light novel, it’s a mouthful. Dawn of the Mapmaker: The Surveyor Girl and the Forbidden Knowledge.

Dark Horse gives us a 7th omnibus of I Am A Hero.

ASH: This is such an intense series!

SEAN: Kodansha Comics is pleased to announce that finally, after nineteen months, thanks to the sacrifice of twenty-thousand Kodansha editors who valiantly gave their lives so that you, the reader, might experience it, we finally have the 5th and final omnibus of Attack on Titan Junior High. (salutes, cries)

ASH: Indeed, a great achievement.

SEAN: In other Kodansha print titles, we have the Attack on Titan Season 2 Box set, the 8th Clockwork Planet manga, a 5th volume of Ninja Slayer KILLS!, and the 14th UQ Holder.

Perhaps sensing the market begging for mercy, Kodansha has only one digital title this week, another debut: The Prince’s Romance Gambit. Not to be confused with The Prince’s Black Poison, I’ve heard this title (which ran in Aria, then Nakayoshi – or possibly the other way around) is very silly.

MICHELLE: Hm. Better silly than cringey, I suppose.

ANNA: Glad there are no new digital titles I want to read since there are so many digital titles I haven’t read!

SEAN: Seven Seas’ new debut is also very silly: Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General. This runs in Fujimi Shobo’s Dragon Age, always a strike against a new title for me, but I found its attempts to be ecchi fairly harmless. At heart this title would rather be ridiculous. Also, that’s totally not Batman. You must be imagining things.

They also have a 7th Dreamin’ Sun, the 3rd Made in Abyss, the 3rd Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka (which just got an anime announcement), the 10th Non Non Biyori, The Testament of Sister New Devil 9, and a print release of the 3rd Occultic;Nine novel which J-Novel Club already released.

MICHELLE: I need to catch up on Dreamin’ Sun. It’s been a little while.

ASH: I really like this J-Novel Club/Seven Seas partnership.

SEAN: Yen Digital has a couple ongoing series, with the 16th Saki and the 17th Sekirei.

They also have three light novels, one of which is a debut. The title – and I am not making this up – is WorldEnd: What Do You Do at the End of the World? Are You Busy? Will You Save Us?. A human is the sole survivor of an apocalyptic future. There’s various new races around, but they don’t need him. And when he joins the military he finds they’re training girl fairies as weapons. I’ll be honest, this sounds FAR too dark for me, but we shall see.

There’s also The Saga of Tanya the Evil 3 (also fairly dark) and So I’m a Spider, So What? 3 (not quite as dark).

Does this interest you? Or is there simply too much manga still?

ASH: Never too much! Mwahaha!

ANNA: There is, indeed, a lot.

SEAN: It’s Yen Press week next week, and you know what that means, folks: a whole ton of books. But first, other publishers.

Dark Horse has a 10th volume of Blood Blockade Battlefront, which has gotten to 10 volumes in a mere 7 years.

J-Novel Club has a 4th How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord, whose (I assume toned-down) anime is now airing in Japan.

Kodansha print has one lone title, the 16th volume of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches.

Digitally, though, it’s an avalanche. We begin with next week’s digital debut, Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? (Kichijouji Dake ga Sumitai Machi Desu ka?). It’s from Kodansha’s Young Magazine the 3rd, and is about two sisters who work in real estate. You know those odd seinen titles with minimal art you always saw in Japanese bookstores but they never got licensed? This is one of those. I am looking forward to it.

MICHELLE: It really looks great.

ASH: Oh! It does!

SEAN: There’s also Ace of the Diamond 13, Defying Kurosaki-kun 2, Kokkoku: Moment by Moment 8, Liar x Liar 4, The Prince’s Black Poison 6, The Quintessential Quintuplets 2, Shojo FIGHT! 4, and Until Your Bones Rot 7. I’m behind on Shojo FIGHT!, but determined to catch up.

MICHELLE: I’m glad this is starting to come out more frequently. Also, yay for more Ace of the Diamond.

ANNA: I’m also behind on Shojo FIGHT! but planning on catching up too!

SEAN: One Peace has a 9th volume of the manga adaptation of The Rise of the Shield Hero.

Seven Seas has two debuts. The first is the manga adaptation of Didn’t I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!, whose novel Seven Seas has also been releasing. The manga runs in Comic Earth Star, and I hope it’s as silly as its source.

The other title, highly anticipated, is The Voynich Hotel, a darkly comedic horror title that ran in Akita Shoten’s Young Champion Retsu. Various anime forums have praised this to the skies, so I’m interested.

MICHELLE: I’m curious about this one, but will probably wait to see some reviews before I commit.

ANNA: Me too.

ASH: This one has me intrigued, as well.

MELINDA: What Michelle said. Times ten.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has the 11th Servamp.

Vertical gives us a 12th Cardfight!! Vanguard.

Viz has nothing in print, but digitally has a 6th élDLIVE.

ASH: Nothing new in print, but Banana Fish is being reprinted, hooray!

MELINDA: YEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

SEAN: Breaking News! Viz is finally dipping its toes into josei! Mari Okazaki’s Will I Be Single Forever? (Zutto Dokushin de Iru Tsumori?) debuts digitally next week. It’s a one-volume collection of “interconnected stories”, and ran in Shodensha’s Feel Young magazine. Readers with long memories may recall Okazaki’s Suppli.

ASH: I do, and fondly!

MICHELLE: Ooh! I’d really been wanting to see Viz do more digital stuff! Maybe this is them sort of testing the waters.

ANNA: I enjoyed Suppli! I think I still have the volumes somewhere in my house. I am excited for this!

ASH: I’ve held onto my copies, too!

MICHELLE: Me, too! I never gave up hope on it being finished in English one day.

And then there’s Yen, which has a whoooole lot, even with some of its light novels being shifted to next week. Let’s start with debuts.

Did you love the epilogue to Harry Potter? Did you wish that all the love you had for that epilogue was applied to your favorite shoujo manga? Then you’ll adore Fruits Basket another, which gives us the next generation of most of the cast and ruins every fanfic ever. I have… strong opinions about this sequel, but I will save them for the review.

MICHELLE: I just don’t know what to think here. I haven’t read any of it, so I will give it a try, but… what story is left?

ANNA: Yeah. Um. Will wait for other reviews, I guess.

MELINDA: I’m dying. Dying. Mainly from Sean’s comments. I think instead of Fruits Basket another, I will just read some things by Sean.

SEAN: Hakumei and Mikochi: Tiny Little Life in the Woods is a new title that ran/runs in Enterbrain’s “sui generis” magazines Fellows! And Harta. It’s tiny girls living a tiny life, as you’d expect. Fantasy slice-of-life from Enterbrain will ALWAYS be on my plate.

ASH: Same. This series looks adorable.

SEAN: Ibitsu is for those who need more creepy horror in their lives, and I can be thankful it’s done in one omnibus. It ran in Young Gangan, and is so not my thing but I know has a big audience.

ASH: I have a general interest in horror manga, creepy or not, so I’ll probably check this one out at some point.

SEAN: School of Horns is a Young Ace Up title that looks like it straddles that vague “is this BL or not?” line. It’s about students at a magic school who can control magic, and one boy whose horns are smaller than the others, making him self-conscious. >_>

MICHELLE: Um…

ANNA: Ha ha, well that certainly sounds emblematic of the genre.

MELINDA: I’m. Uh. Yeah.

SEAN: I hate giving away my Pick of the Week, but I am so hyped for Teasing Master Takagi-san (Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san), which also has a recent anime. It runs in Shogagukan’s Gessan magazine, and is about a short, easily embarrassed boy in middle school and the girl who loves to tease him. I review it here.

There are ongoing Yen titles as well, of course. Akame Ga KILL! 15, A Certain Magical Index 14, the 2nd in Durarara!!’s Re;Dollars arc, Gabriel Dropout 4, DanMachi: Sword Oratoria 4, Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler 6, Laid-Back Camp 3, Log Horizon: The West Wind Brigade 9, Murcielago 7, The 7th Overlord manga volume, a 3rd A Polar Bear in Love, The Royal Tutor 8, Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts 2, the 5th Sekirei omnibus, a 3rd So I’m a Spider, So What? manga volume, the 2nd Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online manga, an 11th Taboo Tattoo, the 3rd and final omnibus for Umineko When They Cry: Requiem of the Golden Witch (one more arc to go after this!), and the 3rd Val x Love.

ANNA: I still need to read Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts 1!

ASH: I enjoyed the first volume, and I think you might like it, too! I’m also looking forward to reading more of A Polar Bear in Love.

SEAN: Please try not to sob as you look at this list. But what are you getting from it?

SEAN: Mid-July. It’s hot. But there is manga for you.

ASH: Yay, manga!

SEAN: Bookwalker has a 4th light novel of The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done.

Dark Horse gives us a 6th Blade of the Immortal omnibus and the 6th Fate/Zero.

J-Novel Club has new volumes for Demon King Daimaou (6), The Magic in This Other World Is Too Far Behind! (4) and The Unwanted Undead Adventurer (2).

Kodansha has a digital debut, as we see Kakafukaka, the 2nd debut from josei magazine Kiss in two weeks. It’s about a girl who just had a break-up moving in with an old school boyfriend, but he has his own issue – erectile dysfunction. I am intrigued.

MICHELLE: Somehow I totally missed the ED angle on this one! But hooray for josei!

ANNA: Huh. OK!

SEAN: Kodansha also has a pile of ongoing digital. All Out!! 6, Fuuka 19, Love’s Reach 10, Perfect World 4, and The Wizard and His Fairy 2.

MICHELLE: Man, I’m falling so far behind on these.

SEAN: On the print side, we have new volumes as well. There’s a 2nd Golosseum, a 6th Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, a 6th Land of the Lustrous, and a 5th. Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty.

MICHELLE: The last volume of Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty ended on quite a dramatic note, so I’m keen to see what happens next.

ASH: I’ve been enjoying Wake Up, Sleeping Beauty as well, but Land of the Lustrous is what really catches my eye out of that bunch.

SEAN: Seven Seas has a debut in The Bride & the Exorcist Knight (Hanayome to Futsuma no Kishi). This is a relatively short (4 volumes) series from Hakusensha’s LaLa by the author of The Heiress and the Chauffeur. Warning: one of the male leads falls below the comfort line in terms of age.

MICHELLE: Hm. I think I’ll wait to see some reviews of this one.

ANNA: Yeah, I don’t know. Heiress and the Chauffeur was pretty cute, but not sure about this.

SEAN: Seven Seas also has a digital-only light novel with the 4th Boogiepop book, Boogiepop in the Mirror. This is the first one that is new to North America, I believe.

ASH: It is! I’ll be waiting for next year’s omnibus print edition, but I’m very glad for Boogiepop‘s return.

SEAN: There’s also a 2nd volume of Himouto! Umaru-chan.

Tokyopop debuts Hanger, a Gentosha title (bet you guessed that) from their BL magazine Rutile. A cop teams up with a criminal to catch people using performance-enhancing drugs. The author also did Innocent Bird back in the day.

Vertical has a 2nd volume of My Boy, which I found less uncomfortable than I expected.

Viz gives us Children of the Whales (5), Dead Dead Demon’s DededeDe Destruction (2), and Fire Punch (3). Dededede is my pick from this.

ASH: Same! I need to catch up with Children of the Whales, too.

SEAN: And most of Yen’s stuff got pushed back a week or two, but we still have two light novels, with the 10th Durarara!! and the 4th Magical Girl Raising Project. More dead magical girls, or Izaya? It’s a tough choice…

Manga? Or air conditioning? You decide.